English magzine august 2014 by sahani group

VOL 4 < ISSUE 6 < AUGUST, 2014

INSIDE Special story

SHREE MAA PRAKASHAN PVT. LTD.

Sonia Faces an Onerous Task

Delhi BJP Shies Away From Delhi Poll ! Group Editor M.K. Tiwari

Uttar Pradesh

Editor Vinod Varshney Executive Editor Dr. Bhagya Rajeshwari Ratna Assistant Editor Anjalika Rajlakshmi Campus Editor Adithi Sonali

Shah Bane

Shahenshah

Cine Editor Meera Singh

Bhopal to Become RSS’ Sub-hqr

Bihar Political Alliances against BJP

Uttarakhand

Aaditya Tewari

India-Bangladesh Looking Ahead

Hooda Move Rattles Akalis

Rajasthan

Why is Rajasthan not India’s Holland ?

Jammu & Kashmir

BJP Dreams of Driver’s Seat in Kashmir

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Andhra Pradesh

Sharing-Problems Loom Large

Poll Reverses Force Punjab to War Against Drugs

Tamilnadu

Jayalalithaa Raises the Dam Height

Karnataka

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Crushing Blow to BJP Within 2-months

Regional Editor C.G. Gopal Thawait

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Haggling Over Seat sharing

Regional Editor M.P.

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Madhya Pradesh

Maharashtra

Special Correspondent A.K. Chaturvedi

Senior Graphic Designer Ashi Sinha

Who’s the Boss in UP ?

IT Capital Turning into Rape Capital

Kerala Kerala’s Dilemma With the ‘Bottle’

North East Gogoi, Going…Going… Not Yet !

Didi Sheds ‘Confrontational’ Stance

Odisha

Naveen Finds Merit in Modi Formula

REGULARS < 05 WITH CANDOUR < 65 HEALTH IS WEALTH < 70 BUSINESS & ECONOMY < 61 CAMPUS

< 68 FILMWORLD

< 72 SPORT

< 77 NEW TECHNOLOGY

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Published, printed, edited & owned by M.K. Tiwari Published from 193, Pocket-D, Mayur Vihar Phase-II, Delhi-91 Printed at Vrindaban Graphic, E-34, Sector-7, Noida (U.P.)

LETTERS suggests that people in general fall prey to vicious ailments only because of the loss of immunity and the disease fighting mechanism. If we adopt healthy food habits, we can avoid several health troubles. But it is unfortunate that especially youth indulge in fatty and junk foods which wreak havoc to their immune system. Information about using green tea, lemons, garlic, ginger, fresh fruits and leafy vegetables will for sure benefit thousands. Kamini Sinha, Lucknow, UP

MODI’S ACHCHE DIN BUDGET The article on Modi’s first budget was joyful reading. It has presented a complete and comprehensive picture of as to whom this budget is going to benefit and where it doesn’t address the concerns of the people. There is least doubt that the new government has a very tough road ahead as on the one hand it seeks to revive growth and curb borrowing, on the other hand it has to restore investor’s confidence. However, the government did disappoint many as expectations had been very high that Narendra Modi would use India's strongest election mandate in 30 years to take radical economic steps comparable to the 1991 market reforms that unleashed an era of high economic growth. Ratna Goswami, Raipur, Chhattisgarh

DETOXIFICATION MEANS AVOIDING DISEASES As always your article on health in July issue of Lokayat was quite informative. People rarely know how to detoxify their body which often results in serious health problems. The article rightly

| LOKAYAT AUGUST, 2014

DU’S AUTONOMY TRAMPLED I went through your campus story ‘Who cares for autonomy’ which rightly explains how the UGC took a volte face when the new government at the Centre took charge. It was clearly a shameless u-turn on the part of the UGC which earlier had endorsed the 4-year Undergraduate Programme in the Delhi University. The way autonomy of an institution like DU was trampled; it doesn’t augur well for the overall health of the education sector which is already facing countless endemic problems. It appears even in the 21st century there is no room for any experimentation in education sector in the country. Ravi Chopra, a student of DU, Delhi

arrests in this mega scam of thousands of crore rupees reflect how under the wrap everything was being kept for years and Chouhan allowed all that. Radheshyam Agrawal, Indore, MP

BJP’S INDECISION ON ELECTION IN DELHI The BJP led Centre appears quite indecisive on holding fresh elections for Delhi assembly, while AAP led by Arvind Kejriwal has recommended dissolution of the assembly and fresh elections in this city state. But instead of adopting righteous path, the Centre has left room wide open for unseemly horse-trading, which shows the double standard of prime minister Narendra Modi who promised fast decision making and changes in the entire economic and political situation of the country. BJP’s opaque and oblique moves regarding election also reveal the fact that whosoever comes to power, it is very difficult to address the malaise of Indian political system. Krishna Kartik, Delhi

EDUCATION SCAM WEAKENS SHIVRAJ The education scam has put the politics of Madhya Pradesh on the boil. Rightly termed as the mother of all education scams, it has made the lives of thousands of students full of frustration. For the first time in almost eight years of his chief ministership, seemingly suave Shivraj Singh Chouhan is facing barrage of accusations which are sure to make his position poor in the state politics. More than 400

tters at E-mail your le ail.com, gm 1@ lokayat0 y@hotmail.com vinodvarshne

WITH CANDOUR

NDA ON TRIAL! he second fortnight of September, 2013 became historical when BJP announced Narendra Damodar Bhai Modi, the illustrious son of the soil of Gujarat, was declared as the prime ministerial candidate of the party. Proficient in politics, ready to forget the past, endowed with penetrating insight, able to hypnotise voters across the country, no matter where, North, South, East or West, skilled in social networking, indefatigable, determined and rightly termed as modern Chanakya, Modi demonstrated that without adopting shrewd strategies, desired success can’t be achieved in politics. Despite getting 282 Lok Sabha seats, Modi accommodated NDA constituents in his cabinet. It proves him as a statesman. Rajnath Singh should also be given credit since it is he who made things conducive for him. When the decision was taken in Modi’s favour, he backed him whole hog. It is his humility that he even accepted to become a part of his cabinet, relinquishing the honourable post of party president. Having initiated changes in the administrative style, pontificating cabinet colleagues and demonstrating supremacy in the parliament, Modi is confident that his cabinet colleagues will contribute equally in his future initiatives. Many past events of BJP and RSS keep on coming to mind. The RSS has always been praised for nurturing a culture of discipline and enhancing prestige of Hinduism. But unluckily the tug of war between RSS and BJP during Vajpayee’s rule erupted which proved disastrous for the party as well as the government. Hope this will not happen again this time. After Modi’s unprecedented victory in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has suffered humiliation in Uttarakhand rather too early when the Congress swept in the by-polls winning all three seats out of which two were with the BJP. Congress’ winning all the three assembly seats doesn’t mean that its good days have begun. A lot will still be required for a come-back. The Congress do have the potential. It was only the coterie of sycophants around Congress chief Sonia Gandhi that contributed to the recent decimation of the party. Rahul Gandhi’s working style only paved way to enmity, alienation and destructive thinking in the youth Congress. The experiment of democratising the youth organisation by holding elections only weakened it. Congress failed in designing a winning strategy also for the elections. The names which must have been in the list of confidants to the Gandhi family were found missing. In the use of social media Congress remained a cipher. The media cell of the party doesn’t have a good representation either. Opportunism and vested interests of those in power took the party to its nadir. Squabbling among party leaders in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra and their sky-high egos continued spoiling party prospects. The continued rule of 10 years reduced the commitment among its leaders. The neglect of committed and experienced workers continued in the party organisation. Rahul Gandhi’s staff created such a system that committed party workers could not reach him. It should be noted that the craft and art of fighting election is now much changed. Without effective strategy, right decision at right time and proper planning no party can afford to win. But the Congress was found directionless in December 2013 assembly elections as well as in May 2014 parliamentary election. Intemperate leaders, lack of objective criticism, remaining cut-off from public and absence of balanced approach made the situation only worse for the party. Now assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana, Jammu-Kashmir and Jharkhand are ahead. They would be a litmus test for the BJP. There is, however, no doubt that prime minister Modi and party president Amit Shah are capable of ensuring victory in these state elections. Meanwhile, the opposition has started cobbling new formations. One is the new electoral coalition of Congress, JD-U and RJD in Bihar for the by-poll at 10 assembly seats. It would be watched with interest if such unprincipled coalitions can be effective.<

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

COVER STORY

SHAH

BANE

SHAHENSHAH

Amit Shah, the new president of Bharatiya Janata Party

| LOKAYAT AUGUST, 2014

COVER STORY

The BJP scored unprecedented success in the Lok Sabha elections raising hopes of achche din even as it attributed all the bad things that were happening in the country to the UPA government. People would naturally expect from the saffron party fulfillment of all the promises made by it during the most hectic election campaign undertaken by Narendra Modi. Wherever next assembly elections take place this fall, they would be fought on the record of Modi government’s performance at the Centre. It would be a big challenge for the BJP to protect its recently won new turf, for on it rests realisation of its ambitions to spread its wings over wider areas to emerge as a truly panIndian party. So who could have been the right helmsman at this juncture for the party? Indisputably it is Amit Shah, who is not only the darling of the RSS but also of prime minister, Narendra Modi.

By Koomitara

rom jail to political exile to BJP’s general secretary and then its national president, all within a few months, Amit Shah’s success story reads like a fairytale. His elevation marks a seismic shift in the party which was unthinkable a few months ago. Shah, a murder accused in several high-profile cases including the infamous Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulsiram Prajapati encounters, assumed the high office of the president of a national party of which patriarch L K Advani had refused to fight the 1996 Lok Sabha election just because somebody had leveled baseless hawala charges against him. The present radical shift veritably indicates what kind of evolution has happened to the party.

At just 50, anointing of Amit Shah as Shahenshah of the BJP, the youngest-ever to occupy the top party post, marks also a generational shift in the party. His appointment signifies recognition of the politics of performance, which he has displayed in Gujarat on many an occasion and recently during the parliamentary elections in UP. Modi depended entirely on Shah for electoral management including arrangement of necessary finance to run the kind of massive campaign across the country, much like the late Pramod Mahajan’s role in the earlier heydays of the BJP. No wonder, plain and simple J P Nadda, Om Mathur and other contenders for the top job got sidelined in the process. The change gives the impression of a move towards unilateralism in a party which boasts of being democratic in its conduct while terming the Congress as a family firm. With Shah being PM Narendra Modi’s Man-Friday, the unilateralism gave a steamrollering ‘aura’ to the party. Some argue that it would provide the best ever coordination between the PM and the party president, as Shah understands Modi’s mind and Modi

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

COVER STORY

The Congress termed choice of Amit Shah as BJP president as unfortunate, saying it was unprecedented to appoint one who was an accused in a murder case and was on bail, and one who had been banned from a state of India for two years under Supreme Court orders from 2010 to 2012. The Aam Aadmi Party which came into existence to fight evils in Indian politics termed his appointment as a ‘wrong precedent and sad day for the country’s democracy’. Congress also termed it an ‘unprecedented’ development. Its spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi commented, ‘Nation is obviously mystified as to how no other better talent is available in the BJP except a murder accused on bail’. The BJP, however, slammed the Congress for the criticism saying it reflected its ‘frustration’ arising from the unprecedented rout in the Lok Sabha poll. 8

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Prime minister Narendra Modi

knows what his Hanuman, as some refer to Shah, can do for him. But there is a faint feeling that this mutuality might finish off any trace of plurality within the party. During the VajpayeeAdvani era, despite intense pressure from the RSS--the ideological parent of the party--to change the political process to suit its designs, the party leadership ensured that divergent views were heard, protected and respected. This may not be the case anymore. Several leaders other than Advani and Vajpayee also became president of the party but its creed hardly changed. Murli Manohar Joshi, the Late Kushabhau Thakre, Late Bangaru Laxman, Late K Jana Krishnamurthy, M Venkaiah Naidu, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari—all donned the hat over the years, but the party’s ideological and political line remained more or less the same as all bore the faithful imprint of the culture the old guards had espoused and nurtured. Fiercely supported by the RSS, Gadkari did try to bring some radical changes including the alleged corporatisation of the party but miserably failed owing to his own limitations and pressures from within the party. But Shah is not a Gadkari. He is also not a traditional politician who cares much for popular beliefs. Shah, the former investment banker and son of a wealthy businessman, believes in managing politics in corporate style using money, technology and tact, to produce concrete results. Shah may not have a persona of Advani or Vajpayee or match

COVER STORY their oratory, charm and intellectual aura, but his skill in electoral calculus takes everyone by surprise. He doesn’t have a mastery over dialectics, but he certainly sways public opinion by speaking to the masses like his boss Modi by allegedly repeating cooked and factually distorted facts and opinions. It is why the local BJP leaders in UP, who earlier condemned Shah in private believing that this Gujarat man could bring no change to the party’s fortunes, were stunned by the success of his confident and methodical electoral management. He took advantage of the disgruntled communities’ hatred of the two top UP leaders, Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav. He also took advantage of the disenchantment of the OBCs with the Akhilesh Yadav government over the 4.5 percent reservation for minorities from the 24 percent of the OBC quota. And he masterly utilised Muzaffarnagar riots to polarise voters on religious lines. He also cobbled alliances with communities and small political parties. And he used technology. Noting that there were many areas where presence of electronic or print media was

Shah is a true RSS product. As a boy he had been participating in the activities of neighbourhood ‘shakhas’ but formally became an RSS Swayamsevak during college days. He first met Narendra Modi in 1982, in Ahmedabad RSS circles. At that time, Modi was a minor RSS pracharak, working as incharge of youth activities in the city. RSS brass was especially impressed with him when he got the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act passed making religious conversion difficult in the state.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat

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COVER STORY

Union home minister, Rajnath Singh

negligible, he deployed hundreds of GPS-enabled video raths to propagate the party’s euphoria message. The result was there for all to see. No one could have ever imagined in his wildest dreams that the saffron party could win 71 out of 80 seats. After the fantastic results the party produced, Rajnath reportedly tried his level best to retain party presidentship, but Modi was adamant not to let Singh emerge as another power centre, which was the case during Vajpayee’s prime ministership when Advani publicly overturned his decision about resolving J&K issue with Pakistan. But Modi is not as democratic as Vajpayee, and Rajnath Singh not as strong as Advani. Moreover, to make Shah’s coronation look a unanimous decision, taken at a wider platform with broader acceptability, appeal and force, the announcement was made in the presence of heavyweights including Advani and MM Joshi who had earlier opposed even Modi’s elevation. The old guards and all those who believed in consensual approach in decisionmaking in the party looked helpless and woebegone.

The duo’s stifling effect on the RSS There is little doubt that the RSS played the biggest role in bringing

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Modi where he is today; however, many believe that the Modi-Shah duo may later think of stifling its (RSS) growing influence on party affairs. Sensing the ramifications, the RSS was initially reluctant to give the go-ahead on Shah, arguing that the organisation wasn’t comfortable with the idea of both the PM and party president coming from the same state, Gujarat. During the Vajpayee-Advani period, conscious efforts used to be made to strike a north-south or eastwest balance by giving prominence to leaders of states where the party was weak. Vajpayee tried it out with Bangaru Laxman and Jana Krishnamurthy as party presidents. The RSS was also wary of Shah’s controversial credentials. Besides, it was argued that Shah’s elevation would be unpalatable to states like UP, Bihar, MP, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra which made the BJP

first time is hungry for more. It wants further progress in states where its performance was lack-lustre as in Tamilnadu, West Bengal, Odisha, Kerala and North East. It wants to emerge as a truly pan-India party. It wants to quickly occupy the space vacated by the Congress and regional parties. Political observers believe if the Modi-Shah duo succeeds, the influence of the RSS over the BJP may start diminishing. There was the time in 2005 when the RSS under its former chief K S Sudarshan openly called for Advani’s resignation as party president after he proclaimed Jinnah a true secularist in his book. Sudarshan continued to call the shots by appointing Rajnath Singh, then Nitin Gadkari and then again Rajnath Singh as party chief. But the duo may think now of moving into a trajectory independent

Modi and Shah have had long association through the thick and thin of Gujarat's turbulent politics. With Shah’s appointment as BJP president the belief gained confirmation that Modi trusts no one else in key positions and his insular nature makes him work in close coordination with only a few handpicked men. It also establishes Modi's penchant for running a one-man show, whether in Gujarat or at the national level. victory so spectacular. Sources say, Modi overwhelmed such apprehensions saying he needed someone who has a proven track record of organisational work. He badly needs equally remarkable results in forthcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi expected to be held this year itself as they would be looked upon as a mini referendum on Narendra Modi government’s performance. The BJP which has tasted such a stunning victory for the

of the RSS which reportedly gave its consent on Shah after some dithering on July 7, when its top decision makers including its chief Mohan Bhagwat, met at Dhar in MP. With Shah’s astonishing success in UP, Modi could easily silence Shahbaiters in the party and the RSS. However, to have some checks on the BJP, the RSS has decided to depute its pracharaks Ram Madhav and Shiv Prakash to the BJP. They are tipped to be general secretaries in Shah’s team.<

SPECIAL STORY

SONIA

FACES ONEROUS

UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi (PTI photo)

By Mani Kishore Tiwari, Group Editor

he Congress party is indeed passing through its worst time ever. Nobody expected the kind of drubbing it got at the recent Lok Sabha elections. Its tally in the Lok Sabha has been reduced to just 44. Reasons for the defeat will continue to be debated for long. There are indeed several palpable reasons for the debacle; some of them are related to the Congress Partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own shortcomings. Party leaders should identify them in a spirit of deep introspection while the

The Congress party is indeed at its worst time ever. It has been reduced to the historical low of just 44 seats in the Lok Sabha. More painful than the abysmal electoral defeat is the fingerpointing in the party. Reasons for the debacle are many; party leaders have to identify them in a spirit of deep introspection after which the process of course correction should start. Congressmen need to realise their solemn national duty; otherwise the country may face problems ahead due to ideological aberrations. The party with Congress ideals of secularism and pluralism is the need today more than ever since monstrous fundamentalism and communalism are poised to raise their ugly heads.

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

SPECIAL STORY process of course correction should start as early as possible. While they are necessary steps in the party’s interest, they are crucial for the future of the nation. Finger-pointing in public reflects defeatism and efforts to find scapegoats; it is not going to help either the party or those who do it. But it is often done with some opportunistic design. Many want to seek greener pastures in other parties. Others want to

First losing five assembly elections in 2013, then Lok Sabha elections, the National Herald case and lately Natwar Singh’s book bomb: the party is indeed in a big crisis. What can restore the party its true power and prestige? Of course unity, respect for leadership and hard work. The party also needs to go back to its basic ideology while shedding its image as a party of arrogant managers. settle scores with their rivals in the party. But a few have genuine grouse also. Nobody would disagree with the fact that party needs to change the way it is run now. The Congress leadership also needs to understand that the huge problems the country may have to face if the party does not come out of its depression and defeatism. The party with its ideals of secularism and pluralism is needed more now than ever as monstrous fundamentalist and communalist forces have started

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi (PTI photo)

| LOKAYAT AUGUST, 2014

raising their ugly heads. So Congressmen need to realise their responsibility towards the country. It is quite common that in times of crises many people ratchet up their private grouse and criticise the leadership. While doing so they often sound being on high moral ground. Many Congressmen themselves have reminded in the past the historic exhortation of Mahatma Gandhi to dismantle the party after India became free from the clutches of the British. But the fact is that India badly needs the Congress even long after securing independence. The Congress has to continue its fight for the ideals of secularism, pluralism and inclusive growth in the country. Following the autobiographical publication ‘One Life is Not Enough’ by Natwar Singh recently, a few Congress leaders passed very critical and opportunistic comments while others made some good suggestions in public which could have been done in party fora. Most Congressmen found the views expressed by the former NehruGandhi family loyalist unacceptable; many have described them as immoral, having come from a person who claims to have worked under Jawahar Lal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. Not just about Sonia Gandhi, Natwar Singh has written a couple of

SPECIAL STORY damaging things about Nehru and Indira Gandhi also, ostensibly to please their bitter critics like Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders. A bigger reason for the expose could be Singh’s frustration at not being bailed out when he was found guilty in Saddam Hussain’s oil-for-food scam. Whether Sonia Gandhi was disinclined to accept the PM’s post due

Jagat Singh son of Natwar Singh joined BJP after being expelled from Congress

There is a growing tendency to blame Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for the defeat—and for all the problems of the party and the government—but many party leaders also realise that Sonia’s presence at the helm is crucial more than ever to keep the party united and strong. Sonia has proved it in the past, and most likely would so again, feel most Congressmen.

to strong opposition from her son or on some other ground is not relevant today. The fact is she declined the post despite tremendous pressure from Congressmen. Even the post of party president was forced on her. And it is history that once she became party president its disintegration stopped. Many leaders who had gone out and formed Indira Congress came back to the main party fold. The Congress grew in strength consistently so much that it returned to power soon after. The Congress party later became effete and weak due to many reasons. The process started during Indira

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

SPECIAL STORY Gandhi’s time, but she faced the crisis boldly. But after her assassination when Rajiv Gandhi took over, the Bofors issue ruined his image as well as that of the party resulting in the poor show of the 1989 parliamentary elections. The Congress could win only 197 seats. It did not choose to constitute a government with the support of other parties, but helped Deve Gowda, Gujral and then Chandrasekhar to form successive governments by giving outside support. After Rajiv’s assassination the party again faced severe problems. Congressmen today may recall those days when the party moved from one crisis to another. When Sonia refused to become party president, Narasimha Rao took over. Later when vice-president Shankar Dayal Sharma declined to become the PM on health grounds Rao got in the saddle. But he did not relinquish the party presidentship for Arjun Singh. This led to forming Indira Congress (Tiwari). In 1996, only one candidate, Sis Ram Ola of Indira Congress won, but it dented badly the chances of the main Congress which could win only 140 seats. For the first time, the BJP won

more seats (161) than the Congress in from the party on Sonia’s foreign the Lok Sabha. The situation did not origin issue and formed his own change much in the 1998 poll either. Nationalist Congress Party which Then the Congress under the though had won only eight presidentship of Sitaram seats, snatched away 9.52 Kesari could increase percent of votes in the its tally by just one 132 seats it seat whereas the contested. BJP increased its Despite all position to 182. this the Senior Congress Congress started making leaders were recovery under unhappy and Sonia Gandhi dejected at the when it started poor Congress winning state Late prime minister P V Narasimha Rao reneged from the promise of relinquishing fortunes. elections one after post of party president Ultimately the another and in the Congress Working 2004 Lok Sabha Committee threw Sitaram elections it surpassed the Kesari out and anointed Sonia Gandhi BJP’s tally. The 2009 election results unanimously as the new president. again reinforced Sonia’s leadership. Indira Congress returned to the main But once the Congress-led UPA formed party. Yet, the result in the its government, selfish and sycophant next year’s elections leaders started insulating the high was even more command from party loyalists, who felt desperate: it demoralised. This is the main reason could win only for the critical situation the party is 114 seats under facing today. the leadership The Congress’ strength was also of Sonia impacted by the emergence of the BSP Gandhi. The which took away a very large chunk of main reason Dalit votes. Kanshiram could not do was that Sharad much damage but Mayawati’s strategy Pawar had mauled the Congress severely in Uttar broken Pradesh. Similarly, formation of the away Trinamool Congress by Mamata Banerjee in 1997 dented it in West Bengal. TMC took away more than 10 percent votes, mostly from the Congress share on the 28 seats it contested in 1999. The UPA-I government did achieve a very high Late Arjun Singh left Congress peeved at Rao’s attitude to form Indira Congress

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SPECIAL STORY economic growth rate, never seen in the history of the country before. Schemes announced by the Centre benefitted even opposition-ruled states. The result was the Congress won 206 seats in 2009. But several scams exposed initially by the CAG and the party’s initial opposition to the Lok Pal Bill destroyed the image of the UPA government. Then a series of catastrophic developments, like global economic slowdown, Supreme Court’s ban on mining for violation of environmental laws, fear of the bureaucracy about getting caught for corruption after DMK leaders were sent to jail for the 2-G spectrum scam etc. scuttled the country’s growth. The government also failed to check inflation. Passing of the land acquisition Bill and slow pace of reforms disenchanted the corporate world which chose to support the BJP through media and money. The Congress party could not withstand the negative wave raised jointly by all the opposition parties. The electronic media remained biased in favour of Modi while the Congress could not use the social media effectively enough. And on top of it the party was plagued by sycophancy. Rahul Gandhi’s advisors ruined whatever little chances were still left. Things have not changed even today. Those who advocated and advised reform in the Youth Congress in the name of democratising the organisation, did so only to please Rahul Gandhi. The system failed because the support used was either bought by money or sought by coercion. Now is the time to show party loyalty and unity, but leaders like Milind Deora, Gufran Azam, T H Mustafa, Jagmit Singh Brar and others are targeting top leadership for the collective failure. Rahul is being criticised for his inability to understand the pulse of different regions. Inept election management, failure of state leaders in

Sonia also would write a book he Nehru-Gandhi loyalist Natwar Singh’s unacceptable and inelegant references to Sonia Gandhi in his autobiographical book have touched some raw nerves in her. A visibly angry Sonia told a TV channel in an interview that she had experienced far more painful days when her mother-in-law was pierced by bullets and her husband was assassinated. She said she would respond to Natwar Singh by writing a book herself so that people would know the truth. It is not just what the former foreign minister wrote in his book; more hurtful are the things he is saying in interviews on various TV channels. He seems to be baring his deep vengeance against her, ostensibly for not defending him when he was charged by Volcker in the oilfor-food scam and later by the R S Pathak inquiry following which the Enforcement Directorate had traced of some dubious transactions from a London bank of his family friend. Natwar Singh stooping so low as to raise her foreign origin issue in one of the interviews has shown him in fully-dyed saffron wool. Interestingly Natwar has mentioned that he was chided by Sonia Gandhi for his attempt to get involved in defence deals earlier also. He has described it as ‘verbal terrorism’ and questioned how she had accessed confidential (official) information. But former prime minister Manmohan Singh has categorically denied that files were ever sent to her. And whatever has been described as interference in government only related to policy matters. As chairperson of the UPA it was only appropriate for her to make sure that party policies were being implemented by the government. But Natwar Singh has hammered Manmohan Singh as well in his book. His main grouse again seems to be that Manmohan Singh did not save him from difficulties arising out of his involvement in the oil-for-food scam. If the book is read closely his frustration becomes easily visible. According to him Sonia was ambitious, authoritarian and unyielding. Her hold on the party was total, perhaps far more than even Nehru ever had. Under her ‘dissent in party was smothered and free discussion fenced in. Politics has coarsened her’. At places Natwar Singh contradicts himself. For instance, after criticising Sonia in very harsh terms, at one place he says she is ‘not autocratic’ but a unique power centre. ‘She doesn’t throw her weight around. She is never rude.’ Then at another place, ‘There is a very good side to her. When I had my bypass, she made regular visits to the hospital. When my daughter died in 2002, she was there sharing our grief and consoling us. These are things I will never forget’. Most leaders in the party have slammed Natwar for stabbing Sonia in the back. Former commerce minister Anand Sharma remarked that Natwar’s assertions should be taken with a fistful of salt. Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa termed it a libelous personal attack, expected from scions of former princely families. Former external affairs minister Salman Khurshid said it has left an ‘unpleasant taste’. Natwar Singh’s brother-in-law, Capt Amarinder Singh found fault with him for making private conversations public. But Natwar Singh himself alleges that despite being close to the Sonia family, he was not given a chance to explain his side of the case to her.<

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

SPECIAL STORY charge of the party and selection of wrong candidates on account of favouritism are other reasons of the massive defeat. Fierce factionalism in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, power hunger of local leaders and anger of people against inaccessible MPs and MLAs contributed to the electoral loss. The media cell of the party was poorly equipped, hence remained ineffective. The A K Antony committee probing the unprecedented electoral reverses of the Congress has revealed a very pertinent fact: the party was

NCP president Sharad Pawar

seen by people as a firm supporter of minorities. The BJP was able to exploit it and polarise the majority community to the detriment of the Congress. It is essential to make necessary policy corrections immediately. Along with that several other measures are also imperative. Top leadership should keep sycophants at arm’s length, programmes based on party ideology should be launched and implemented, proper policies have to be formulated to energise party workers, party unity should be maintained at all costs and intimate connect with people must be increased to counter false opposition propaganda. If these happen, there is no doubt the Congress would bounce back to power sooner than later. The forthcoming assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Jammu-Kashmir are the first major test for the party.<

Why is Natwar angry? atwar Singh was named a beneficiary in the oil-forfood deal of Saddam Hussein. After president Saddam’s execution this 60-billion dollar programme came under UN scrutiny and it was found to have been misused to bribe individuals to buy diplomatic support to get UN sanctions against Iraq lifted. A 3-member inquiry committee under Paul Volcker (two other members were, a Swiss professor and a South African judge) instituted by the UN gave its report after 18 months. In that document Natwar Singh, the Congress Party and several corporate houses were named as non-contractual beneficiaries. In UN terminology non-contractual beneficiary means corrupt person or entity. The report reportedly mentioned that Natwar Singh, his son Jagat Singh and Jagat’s childhood friend Andaleeb Sehgal were associated with a company, which acted as an intermediary for illegal sale of oil to a Swiss firm. It has been alleged that India lobbied against the US to lift the sanction against Iraq. Natwar Singh has insinuated in his autobiography that it was ‘a conspiracy against me and the Congress as we were never informed about our involvement during the investigation’. Congress president Sonia Gandhi took serious cognizance of his involvement and was immensely angry and felt betrayed for misusing name of the party. This was natural as she had placed full trust in him. The matter seemed to have subsided after the government defended him in Parliament. But the issue resurfaced again when Indian ambassador to Croatia Aniel Mathrani spilled the beans in an interview to a prominent fortnightly that Natwar Singh had asked for vouchers for oil barrels during his visit to Iraq as leader of a Congress delegation that went there at the invitation of deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz in 2001. Natwar’s son Jagat Singh, a general secretary of the Youth Congress at that time was also a member of the visiting team. After this interview prime minister Manmohan Singh sought his resignation as external affairs minister amidst a lot of furore over the issue. The government had already constituted a committee to probe the matter under Justice R S Pathak. The committee exonerated the Congress party fully. But it reportedly mentioned that Jagat Singh’s friend Andaleeb Sehgal and Aditya Khanna got pay-offs based on Natwar’s recommendation letter. The Enforcement Directorate of the finance ministry then charge-sheeted Natwar Singh and his son Jagat Singh. Jagat Singh who was expelled from the Congress later joined the BJP. Subsequently at a BJP rally Natwar Singh announced his resignation from the Congress and the Rajya Sabha. He joined the BSP expecting to get a Rajya Sabha ticket but Mayawati refused the request. He protested and was then expelled for indiscipline. Natwar Singh claims that the Pathak inquiry against him was to frame him. His case is still pending with the Enforcement Directorate.<

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

WORLD

The Permanent Court of Arbitration has awarded Bangladesh 106,613 sq kms out of a total of 172,220 sq kms that New Delhi claimed was under dispute but should belong to India. The ruling settles a maritime boundary India has haggled over with Pakistan from 1947 to 1971, and subsequently with Bangladesh. The verdict cannot be considered good for India, because it has lost to Bangladesh a swathe of sea larger than the area of Bengal by this ruling. The verdict would deny Indian fishermen access to parts of the sea which has been awarded to Bangladesh. It also means India cannot tap natural gas and oil reserves predicted in that region by companies like the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, as Bangladesh has considerably increased its Exclusive Economic Zone. 18

| LOKAYAT AUGUST, 2014

INDIA-BANGLADESH

LOOKING AHEAD

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj at a meeting with Raushon Ershad, leader of the opposition, Bangladesh Jatiyo Sangshad in Dhaka. (PTI photo)

By Nilova Roy Chaudhury

he new external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj chose Dhaka as her first solo port of call after the new BJP-led government assumed office, making a three day visit there from June 25. In part, it was to assure Bangladesh that election rhetoric was just that – election

rhetoric – and that the Narendra Modi government wished to improve relations with its eastern neighbour, despite the very vocal campaign speeches threatening Bangladeshi ‘immigrants’ and also to assuage apprehensions that there would be any radical departures in India’s foreign policy. There were no promises made but, according to Indian and Bangladeshi analysts, the visit was ‘extremely timely’ and ‘served to restore mutual goodwill.’ The impression, analysts said, was that the Indian government was committed to resolve all outstanding issues, including ratifying

WORLD the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) and even the Teesta Waters Agreement. The visit allowed the Indian government to absorb the fallout of the UN’s Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) award, delivered on July 7, without much criticism. The PCA’s verdict, delivered in a 168-page ruling, resolved the long standing maritime dispute between Dhaka and New Delhi, primarily ruling in Dhaka’s favour. The PCA awarded Bangladesh 106,613 sq kms out of a total of 172,220 sq kms that New Delhi claimed was under dispute but should belong to India. The ruling handed down by the PCA headquartered at The Hague officially settles a maritime boundary India has haggled over with Pakistan from 1947 to 1971, and subsequently with Bangladesh, which then took the issue to the PCA in October, 2009. MEA spokesman Syed Akbaruddin, when asked about India’s response to the verdict said, ‘We respect the verdict of the tribunal and are in the process of studying the award and its full implications.’ Asked if India was likely to appeal the verdict, he responded saying that the settlement would ‘enhance mutual understanding and goodwill’ by bringing to a closure ‘a long-pending issue.’ According to an official, the verdict cannot be considered good for India, because it has lost to Bangladesh a swathe of sea larger than the area of Bengal by this ruling. The verdict would deny Indian fishermen access to parts of the sea which has been awarded to Bangladesh. It also means India cannot tap natural gas and oil reserves predicted in that region by companies like the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, as Bangladesh has considerably increased its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Although a nation does not have territorial sovereignty over the EEZ — ships from other countries can enter those waters freely — only that

particular country (in this case, Bangladesh) can exploit the zone for economic gains. In the Bay of Bengal, ONGC has been exploring for oil and gas since 2005. Delineating the maritime boundary was essential because it eliminates another source of potential conflict and delineates both the sovereign maritime territory of each of the two neighbours — extending 12 nautical miles off the coast — and an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) that continues till 200 nautical miles into the sea.

Had the Verdict come Before ‘Had this verdict come during the UPA’s tenure, there would have been a political furore, with the BJP claiming the government had sold out,’ an analyst said. As it is, the verdict has gone largely unnoticed, even by the Trinamool government in West Bengal.

Had this verdict come during the UPA’s tenure, there would have been a political furore, with the BJP claiming the government had sold out. The verdict has gone largely unnoticed, even by the Trinamool government in West Bengal. The conclusions arrived at by the PCA’s five-member bench that heard the case have upset Indian negotiators, and left sections of the foreign policy establishment worried about opposition from state governments along India’s eastern coast. The TMC government is already holding out on the Teesta waters agreement. Meanwhile, in Bangladesh too, a section of people from opposition

parties have been critical of the verdict, raising the issue of the South Talpatti Island, also known as the New Moore Island, which was awarded to India. They argue that Bangladesh has lost its claim on this ‘historic’ island. However, satellite imagery suggests that the island has already gone under water. For Bangladesh, the victory is the second of its kind in quick succession — it won a UN arbitration battle against Myanmar in 2012, also over the demarcation of its maritime boundary with that nation. Officials said the India and Bangladesh would ‘mutually’ resolve matters involving fishermen and so on. A senior Bangladeshi diplomat said issues would be negotiated and settled amicably ‘among friendly neighbours.’ The diplomat was hopeful that now, with a new government in place and the maritime boundary issue settled, the Land Boundary Agreement would also be resolved. Ratification of this agreement would require passage of the agreement through a constitutional amendment in the Indian Parliament, involving a two-thirds majority, because transfer of territory (162 enclaves; 111 now in India and 51 in Bangladesh) is involved. Sushma’s visit was a rare event, comprising an effort exclusively to reach out to and get to know a vital neighbour. Swaraj held a series of meetings with the top leadership in Bangladesh, including president Abdul Hamid, prime minister Sheikh Hasina, the leader of the opposition, Raushan Ershad, and the former leader of the opposition and the president of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Khaleda Zia. Her meeting with Khaleda Zia was particularly significant, considering the troubled nature of domestic politics in Bangladesh. Zia had cancelled a meeting with president Pranab Mukherjee during his visit there in March 2013.<

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

DELHI

BJP SHIES AWAY FROM DELHI POLL ! The BJP, despite winning all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi with handsome margins, has developed cold feet and is shying away from holding assembly elections. At the same time it seeks to form a government with the help of willing MLAs from other parties, a euphemism for horsetrading. Opinion within the BJP is sharply divided on this unhealthy move. Meanwhile Arvind Kejriwal is making allout efforts to expose the sinister attempt of poaching on other parties. It has urged the Supreme Court and is canvassing public support to dissolve the assembly and announce fresh elections.

| LOKAYAT AUGUST, 2014

E-rickshaw operators (PTI photo)

By Kusum Varshney

he self-proclaimed ‘decisive’ government of Narendra Modi has failed to ‘decide’ the immediate fate of Delhi even after two months in office. All available signs are that the BJP is keener to form a government than go for elections, if possible. The latest indication of its unwillingness to go for poll came during the debate in the Rajya Sabha on Delhi budget when defence and finance minister Arun Jaitley said: ‘A political solution will have to be found to the stalemate with either some party

forming the government or fresh elections being held’. He suggested no time-frame for ending the president’s rule in Delhi. A couple of days earlier the BJP’s self-promoting chief ministerial candidate Jagdish Mukhi asserted that none of the 70 MLAs wanted elections in Delhi. He perhaps counted even Kejriwal and AAP MLAs among them. He argued that Delhi could not afford the luxury of a third election jamboree in such a short period—the assembly elections in December last, the Lok Sabha poll in April and now another! Nobody mentions why a re-poll could not have been held with the Lok Sabha elections to avoid this piquant situation. No poll means just one thing: form a government by hook or by crook. BJP sources prefer the easier option: get a few rival party MLAs to resign so that the

DELHI in Delhi; therefore winning the assembly elections should not be a problem. The RSS, which plays a major role these days in all political decisions of the BJP, is reportedly against forming a government through horse-trading. It is the unexpected blow suffered in the Uttarakhand assembly by-elections in which all the three BJP candidates lost badly within two months of making a clean sweep of the Lok Sabha poll there that keeps the BJP leadership circumspect. While the BJP is indecisive, the AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal is sparing no efforts to thwart attempts at government formation by any unfair means. He is often found on FM channels blaring his disgust of way the BJP was trying to poach MLAs of his party by offering Rs 2o crore, and even terrorising a few of them. For days together media ran speculative stories about how many AAP legislators might switch sides. But Kejriwal put an end to

overall strength of the house is reduced and the BJP becomes a majority party. A prominent BJP legislator Ramvir Singh Bidhuri claimed he could form a government within 24 hours if the leadership gave its nod. The AAP reacted sharply: ‘How is it possible without any poaching? Why is Modi silent on this unethical proposition?’ Sources said the BJP central leadership was divided on this option. Two former party presidents—union home minister Rajnath Singh and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari—are said to be in favour of forming a government, while finance and defence minister Arun Jaitley and foreign minister Sushma Swaraj are for taking fresh mandate from people. The latter two argue that in the Lok Sabha elections the BJP was in No 1 position in 60 of the 70 assembly constituencies

this by presenting all his MLAs before the LG demanding fresh polls. Then suddenly media changed tack and started featuring new stories that six Congress MLAs were ready to join the Shiromani Akali Dal, a coalition partner of the BJP, to help form a BJP-led government. The AAP protested against this by putting up posters in the constituencies of three Muslim MLAs— Mateen Ahmad, Asif Mohammad Khan and Hasan Ahmad—who were rumoured to be keen to switch sides. The police arrested some of the AAP volunteers including the senior leader Dilip Pandey for the allegedly offensive posters with communal overtones. Kejriwal charged that the police were being used by the BJP to harass AAP volunteers who were sent to Tihar jail and released on bail after a few days. He accused the BJP of employing the Gujarat model of politics to terrorise opposition parties. Interestingly one

Two former BJP presidents—union home minister Rajnath Singh and transport minister Nitin Gadkari—are said to be in favour of forming a government, while finance Minister Arun Jaitley and foreign minister Sushma Swaraj are for taking fresh mandate from the people.

Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

DELHI

Jaitley’s people-friendly budget for Delhi

Union minister for finance Arun Jaitley

] No new tax has been levied in the

Rs 36,766-crore budget of Delhi. ] Rs 1,429 crore have been allocat-

]

] ]

]

ed for improvement in water supply. A new system of ‘water ATM’ has been promised for dispensing potable water. Five hundred water ATMs will be set up during the current financial year. They will be supported with either ground water or tanker services. A subsidy of Rs 260 crore has been given to small electricity consumers to give some relief after the tariff hike by DERC. A new multi-speciality hospital will be started in Rohini and 50 dialysis centres will be set up in different parts of the national capital territory. One hundred and ten new ambulances will be introduced in view of the increasing number of trauma cases. Four new sewage treatment plants will be installed and community toilets will be made in JJ clusters. NDMC area will be developed as a solar city. Regional offices of the transport department will be modernized and 1,380 new low-floor buses will be added to the DTC fleet. Electronic ticketing machines and card readers will be provided in buses. Rs 2, 482 crore have been allocated to the education sector. Twenty new schools will be opened.

| LOKAYAT AUGUST, 2014

Amanatullah, an AAP volunteer, replaced after he was elevated to the admitted that he had pasted the union cabinet. The new president posters on his own as he was angry at Satish Upadhyaya is too junior a guy the Muslim MLAs who were trying and has to work hard to make the to help the BJP form a government; cadre really accept him. yet the police framed cases against The BJP is also not clear about Dilip Pandey and other volunteers. who should be promoted as its chief A week later three AAP workers ministerial candidate. The party were arrested for pasting posters wants someone who can match exhorting people to gather at Jantar Arvind Kejriwal in ability and Mantar on August 3 urging popularity. Only Jagdish elections in Delhi. They Mukhi has come out were booked for violatopenly to claim the ing the Delhi slot. He even ran a Prevention of Facebook camDefacement of paign in support, Property Act. The but he was told AAP accused the by the party to police of being stop it. It means biased because there that the party is DPCC president were many posters of looking for a suitAmit Shah and Modi plas- Arvinder Singh Lovely able candidate. tered all over the city, yet the Possibly some MP would police took no action against the BJP. be named as CM candidate soon. But Why only selective objection to AAP whosoever the choice, it is likely to posters, Kejriwal asked. raise a ripple of dissent within the party. BJP wants time to The Modi government recently gear up cadre passed a Rs 36,766- crore budget for BJP leaders, worried at adverse Delhi. The party wants time to publicity in the media, have started impress on the citizens of Delhi that a

The BJP is not clear as to who should be promoted as its chief ministerial candidate. The party wants someone who can match Arvind Kejriwal in mass appeal. Only Jagdish Mukhi has come out openly to claim the slot. He even ran a campaign in Facebook but he was told by the party to stop it. defending themselves off and on, saying that they are not shying away from elections. They only want some time to organise the party and get it poll-ready. The fact is that within less than a year Delhi BJP has got its third president. First, Vijay Goel was removed in favour of Harsh Vardhan on the ground that the former was not able to carry with him all the factions along. Then Harsh Vardhan had to be

lot has been done, a lot more is planned for them in the budget and that the Modi government cares for them. But a bigger reason, sources say, is that outcome of an internal survey carried out by the BJP in Delhi has revealed that the party may not get a clear majority again despite the clean sweep in the Lok Sabha elections. The defeat of all three party candidates with huge margins in the

DELHI recent Uttarakhand by-polls confirmed its worst fears. The Congress Party has no stake now in Delhi though it had been ruling it uninterruptedly for the last 15 years and did indeed change its face. In the Lok Sabha elections its vote share came down to just 15.1 percent. There was not a single assembly segment where the Congress candidates could establish a lead! However, in order to revive the party, it is vigorously raising the BJP government’s commissions and omissions on several fronts, like hiking railway fares, spiraling commodity prices, banning e-rickshaws and unending electricity and water supply problems. It is desperately trying to snatch the initiative on many issues from the AAP; and it looks like being on the path of revival though not energetic enough to get counted. So no wonder, the eight Congress MLAs also do not want any elections at this stage though Delhi Congress president Arvinder Singh Lovely boasts ad nauseam that the party is ready to face fresh elections any time and it will not help the AAP to form a government again to avoid fresh election. Meanwhile the BJP is trying hard to make a dent in the support base of the AAP. For instance, autowallahs who had firmly backed the AAP are being harassed by the police every day. They had, for first time, experienced relief from the police tyranny during the feisty 49days of the Kejriwal government. To win their sympathy the auto union backed by the BJP called a one-day strike against the police harassment. They did it two days before the AAP could organise a rally of autowallahs to consolidate its support base. Similarly, on the issue of the environment friendly e-rickshaws, the

The AAP would contest elections in Delhi only aving learnt its bitter lesson from the dismal performance in the Lok Sabha elections, mainly on account of jumping into the fray nation-wide in a hurry, the AAP has now decided not to contest the forthcoming assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, Jammu & Kashmir and Jharkhand in November. This baffling decision came after a lot of debate in its executive committee. It was challenged by many AAP leaders who wanted to spread the party’s roots through these elections in AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal the respective states, but a large majority felt that due to lack of resources the party should focus for the present only on Delhi, which is its birth place. During the Lok Sabha elections the party’s limited energy was dissipated in other states, which contributed to some extent to the defeat in all seven Lok Sabha constituencies in the capital. The party is making serious efforts to establish a new connect with the people who were devastated by the impulsive resignation of Arvind Kejriwal as CM after just 49 days.<

BJP tried to take credit for giving them quick relief. The union transport minister Nitin Gadkari promptly called a big meeting of autowallahs at Ramlila Maidan to assure them that they would be protected. But this claim turned out to be pointless since the Delhi

Self-proclaimed BJP's chief ministerial candidate Jagdish Mukhi

High Court banned them within a few weeks till relevant legal provisions are made. Electricity consumers constitute another vote bank which the BJP wants to wean away from the AAP. Reducing electricity bills by half up to 400 units per month per household was the most popular, though controversial, decision of the Kejriwal government. Sensing that there was a substantial vote bank Arun Jaitley in his Delhi budget gave relief to small power consumers—a subsidy of Rs 1.20 per unit upto 200 units and 80 paisa per unit for the 201-400 units slab. But before that the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission had already hiked the tariff making people anti-BJP. The AAP had opposed the move saying that electricity distributing companies were fudging their accounts to claim relief from DERC. Kejriwal asked why the BJP government was not getting speedy audit of these companies by the CAG to make things clear. The CAG had earlier complained that these companies were not cooperating in the audit ordered by the Kejriwal government. The Delhi High Court had supported the audit move.<

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

UTTAR PRADESH

WHOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S THE BOSS IN UP

Inability of stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s police to control law-breakers, miscreants and criminals is now considered the most significant factor contributing to the erosion of Akhilesh Yadavâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s image. But does the chief minister have the authority within the party to do something on his own? Many even suspect that the young chief minister mere a pawn in a larger power game within the Samajwadi Party.

In the wake of recent rape case in Badaun, an artist draws a painting raising issues of women safety in Moradabad (PTI photo)

By Ratan Mani Lal from Lucknow

he reign of Samajwadi Party under chief minister Akhilesh Yadav was marked by a promising beginning more than two

years ago but during the recent Lok Sabha elections people revealed their dislike for the SP government, and now under a seemingly endless series of crimes against women has forced people to question the ability of the state government to manage the affairs of the state. Even though Akhilesh effected a course correction by significantly changing allocations in the annual budget presented in June and attracting reasonable good investments into the

state, but unless he gets a stronger grip over the law and order enforcement machinery, the exercise to change the face of the state may remain futile. The ineptitude of the state police in controlling and working out heinous crimes against women, bank dacoities, murders and attacks on policemen and government employees over the last few months have tarnished the image of the state. The Budaun rape and murder of two girls whose bodies were found hanging from a tree in May

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

UTTAR PRADESH shocked the entire world. The recent incident in Lucknow involving the brutal murder of a woman revived the memories of the December 2012 Delhi rape-murder case. The woman was assaulted, brutalized and left to die on the night of July 16 and her unclothed body was found by a

HOW MUCH SAFE By Tamanna Faridi

espite the bad press Uttar Pradesh gets these days about crimes against women, official statistics tell a different story. The latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) mentions that there are at least 14 states among the big ones in the country where rapes per million women last year were higher than the much-maligned Uttar Pradesh. This shameful crime is the highest among the small states in the north-east. But among the big ones Assam under Congress rule tops the list with 126 reported rape cases per million women population. Madhya Pradesh follows closely behind with 121 cases, then Chhattisgarh (110), Rajasthan (97), Haryana (80), Jharkhand (76),

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav

watchman next morning in the premises of a school in Balsingh Khera village of Mohanlalganj. Showing inexplicable hurry, the police not only got the victim’s body cremated late at night but also claimed two days later that the woman was lured by one security guard who killed her in an attempt to rape her. The police claimed that the weapon used for the crime was no more than the key of a motor cycle, and rape did not take place at all. The police theory was damaged when the autopsy report said she had both her kidneys intact, while the hospital where she worked had records to show that she had some years ago donated one of her kidneys to her husband (who died later). The general feeling among people in Lucknow is that there could be an attempt to frame the guard in a bid to protect

| LOKAYAT AUGUST, 2014

someone else. Incidentally on July 17, the entire police force was busy with the visit of former US president Bill Clinton and an investigation into the case could begin only the next day. The discrepancy between the woman’s medical history and autopsy report has further eroded the credibility of police after the Budaun incident. The inability of the state’s police to control law-breakers and criminals is now considered the most significant factor contributing to the erosion of Akhilesh Yadav’s image. While the incident sent shockwaves through the

Himachal Pradesh (73), Kerala (68), Punjab (67), J & K (65), Maharashtra (55), Uttarakhand (45), West Bengal (37) and Karnataka (34). The figure for UP is just 31, far below the national average of 55. Madhya Pradesh under BJP rule has continuously reported the highest number of rapes among all big states in the country since 2001. According to the NCRB report, during the BJP rule rape cases in MP increased by 52 percent. When SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav mentioned in the wake of recent Lucknow rape incident that total number of rapes in the state was not high compared to other states, he was lambasted by the media for belittling the crime though he was making a factual statement. Media bias ostensibly is more because of his earlier state-

state, it has also raised the question as to why there is no concerted attempt on the part of the state government to initiate corrective measures at the earliest. ‘The chief minister scrapped the free laptop distribution scheme or unemployment allowance and instead increased spending on power, infrastructure and roads, to give out a message that pragmatism was more important than populism. Similarly, he should come out with something drastic to overhaul the law enforcement machinery in the state,’ said D K Agnihotri, a retired university professor.

UTTAR PRADESH

FOR WOMEN? ment when he said: ‘boys are boys, they may make mistakes’. The major failure in combating crimes against women in Uttar Pradesh is due to acute shortage of police personnel. Nearly 60 per cent posts at different levels have been lying vacant for the last several years. Buffeted by the criticism on the law and order front the Akhilesh Yadav government has allocated in the current budget a whopping Rs 12,400 crore for modernisation of the police force. But so far as reducing incidents of rape is concerned cultural and social drives can be more effective. But who cares for that. Cities are notorious for rapes. The national capital Delhi has one of the worst record among all cities in the country and it has been under Congress rule for 15 years. In Delhi, rape cases reported last year were around five times the figure for Lucknow, the Uttar Pradesh capital. The most notorious city in the country for this crime is Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh where last year 228 rape cases were filed per million women population. The safest city for women in the country is Kannur (Kerala). There are

The moot question is: Does the chief minister have the authority within the party to do something on his own? There is common talk among people that there are several power centres in the state. They even name some political leaders and a bureaucrat to be specific in this regard. Besides, differing statements of SP leaders on contentious issues often create a piquant situation for the government. There is a general feeling not only in the SP but also in other parties that the chief minister may not be having a free hand in administering the state. Immediately after his taking over as

seven other cities viz., Bengaluru (Karnataka), Chennai, Tiruchirapalli and Coimbatore (all three in Tamilnadu), Kanpur (UP), Kolkata, and Malappuram (Kerala) where rapes reported last year were less than 20 per million women population. UP’s worst city in this respect

is Meerut where rape cases were three times the state average. Following the gangrape and mur-

der of two girls in Budaun, the worried state government ordered the setting up of women’s help lines (telephone number 1090) in all districts, which received a massive response. Headed by Lucknow police DIG Navneet Sikera, the initiative has handled more than 2 lakh calls so far, and has resolved most of the cases. The CM has assured that honour of women would be protected at all costs. Noting the numerous cases where the accused tried to threaten the victims, the government has directed the police to book such people under the National Security Act.<

chief minister, an officer was named to be his principal secretary but within a few days he was replaced by another officer—the latter had been in this position during the chief ministership of Mulayam Singh Yadav some years ago. Secretaries of many departments have been changed following the displeasure of the two strong ministers. Sympathisers of Samajwadi Party concede that there does not appear any urgency within the ruling party to arrest the slide in Akhilesh Yadav’s popularity. While the chief minister faces the flak, all other power centres seem to be oblivious of the damage

caused to their overall credibility. Is the young chief minister a mere pawn in a larger power game? Bharatiya Janata Party’s state spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak says that the state police appeared to have lost its clout and even ordinary lawbreakers were not scared of the men in khaki. ‘It appears that the police lack the will to act against lawless and undisciplined party workers,’ he said. State Congress spokesman Ashok Singh says that the botched investigation into the Lucknow incident exposed the insensitive face of the police.<

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

Sonia Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi

President, Indian National Congress

Vice President, Indian National Congress

Dr Charan Das Mahant Former Union MoS Agriculture and Food Processing Industries

Heartiest Congratulations at the 68th Independence Day

Shri Moti Lal Dewangan Congress MLA, Janjgir-Champa

MADHYA PRADESH

BHOPAL TO BECOME RSS’ SUB-HEADQUARTER

Mumbai RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat (PTI photo)

By Chandrakant Naidu from Bhopal

leased with the strong performance of its affiliates in Madhya Pradesh the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is keen to upgrade its Bhopal centre into a sub headquarter, next only to Nagpur. With its logistic advantage as a well-connected railhead Bhopal has hosted a number of conferences of the Sangh leaders. Other towns of the state have effectively complemented the effort. Bhopal is now scheduled to host the Chintan Shivir, the annual

conference of the Sangh national executive and its affiliates like Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad from July 30 to discuss its coordination with the BJP. Since this will be the first major interactive session of the office bearers of the RSS and the BJP after the formation of NDA Government long term plans for the organisation would form the agenda. The new BJP president, Amit Shah, is expected to make his first appearance since his appointment in RSS programme. The BJP is expected to get the parent body’s clearance for various appointments to the organisation. The Madhya Bharat prant, as the Sangh calls the central Indian region, has provided the substratum for the RSS to reinforce its presence in the rest of

the country. Even Nagpur hasn’t tasted such success. Nagpur took fifty years to send its first BJP member to the Lok Sabha in 1996 despite being the ideological source for the party. Banwarilal Purohit who was elected on the BJP ticket was till then the Congress MP from the constituency. The previous head of the organisation K S Sudarshan had taken a fancy for Bhopal and had envisaged plans to turn Bhopal into a centre to work for the parivar’s expansion. His successor Mohan Bhagwat has found the logistic support of the BJP government suited to realise Sudarshan’s dream. Beleaguered by the Professional Examination Board (PEB) scam the chief minister is expected to make the most of the occasion to draw support from the parent organisation. The RSS was said to be miffed with

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

MADHYA PRADESH Chouhan for the clumsy handling of the scam. RSS has been involved in more controversies in Madhya Pradesh than in other states. Suresh Soni the RSS point person to monitor the BJP activities has been named in the PEB scandal which has been rocking the state for more than a year now. Soni arrived in Bhopal a day before the RSS executive meeting for a marathon discussion with chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Mining baron Sudhir Sharma, who was arrested after six-week hide and seeks with the Special Task Force (STF) of the state police, is considered to be a close associate of Soni. The meeting kept back the chief minister from attending the training session for the party MLAs. The Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan was the chief guest at the session. Earlier Soni had been summoned to the Sangh headquarters at Nagpur to explain his position after some accused in the scam named him for referring some candidates for fraudulent selection in state services. Interestingly the STF had issued a statement to clear the names of RSS functionaries after Soniâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Nagpur visit. Mihir Kumar Chaudhary, an aide of K Sudarshan was released on bail after spending 10 days in jail in January this year is reported to have recorded a statement before the police saying he had sought the late RSS chiefâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s help to clear a recruitment examination and got the job with the help of then technical education minister Laxmikant Sharma. Soni calls it a conspiracy by his adversaries but refuses to name them. As RSS joint secretary in charge of Madhya Pradesh Soni called the shots in the selection of candidates for various elections. He was, however, removed about a year ago after many members said he was participating in the factional fights.<

| LOKAYAT AUGUST, 2014

PERPETRATING CRIME By Lokayat Correspondent

n Madhya Pradesh police officers have lately been hitting headlines more for perpetrating crime than preventing it. The state has escaped media scrutiny despite its pole position on crime against women. Political reasons apparently have driven media to focus on states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Last year the state topped the charts with 9,297 complaints against police officials of various ranks with Maharashtra lying a distant second with 7,280 complaints. From custodial deaths, corruption, extortion to threats and assault, the number of complaints kept piling up. The data released by the National Crimes Record Bureau (NCRB) shows that only 920 complaints were taken up for departmental, magisterial or judicial

Shivraj Singh Chouhan, chief minister, Madhya Pradesh

MADHYA PRADESH

THAN PREVENTING IT enquiry. In fact only one case went for judicial inquiry. In 8,335 cases the complaints were dismissed as false or unsubstantiated. Only 50 cases were registered and departmental action taken in 45 cases while only 11 were considered fit for trail or charge-sheet. The state has already led the graphs for three years for crime against women with 4,335 cases of rape. This year it kept up the lead with 1,106 cases reported in the first quarter. Significantly the police officers have been conspicuously seen committing crime against women. In the past couple of months at least three highranked policemen have either been accused of rape or sexual exploitation or abetment to murder after sexual atrocities. Earlier this month a woman filed an FIR with the Jaipur police accusing Anil Mishra an assistant inspector general of police of Madhya Pradesh of raping her and clicking objectionable pictures of her daughter and niece. The woman said Mishra raped her several times on the pretext of helping her husband in the case and also clicked some pictures of her daughter and niece to blackmail her. Mishra rejected the allegations. However, the state government has suspended him pending investigations in the case. In another case the superintendent of police in Gwalior Pramod Verma is facing the charge of adultery following complaint by his wife. Verma who is alleged to be in an extra marital affair with a junior colleague has been shifted to Bhopal and faces an enquiry by the additional director general of women’s cell. A town inspector of police Upmanyu Saxena has been absconding for more than two months after the suicide of his live-in partner. The police

have announced an award on Saxena’s head and he faces confiscation of property. Saxena is said to have forced the woman to end her life. The roll of dishonour is pretty long. Mayank Jain, an IPS officer whose house was raided a couple of months ago for disproportionate assets, faced a complaint from his wife for harassment. Ashish Pawar a senior inspector of police was removed from his prime posting for alleged illicit relations with a woman. Akhilesh Mishra, another senior inspector was also removed from a plum posting after his wife made serious allegations against him at a public hearing before the director general of police. RK Chaturvedi who retired as additional director general found himself in the dock after his wife lodged a complaint against him for domestic violence. Two other senior officers are facing action for involvement in the professional examination board scam. Suspended DIG RK Shivhare, accused in PEB scam has been in the custody of the STF since he surrendered in April. The police had announced a reward of Rs 3,000 after he evaded

arrest for several months. Shivhare’s daughter and son-in-law were accused for fraudulent admission in the post graduate courses through PEB. Shivhare is said to have paid millions of rupees for their admission. Ajay Singh Pawar another suspended police inspector, wanted in connection with the scam, was arrested in July after several months of effort. He carried a reward of Rs 10,000 on his head. The police officers are not just perpetrators or crime. Many have been on the wrong side of the criminals’ stick. In the past three-four years 14 officers were murdered, 213 escaped murder attempts and nearly 880 were victims of violence by miscreants. Of these 880 cases the police have failed to arrest the criminals in 801 cases. Most cases have been reported from the Bhind and Morena districts of the Chambal region. Majority of the cases involve the mining mafia who enjoys political patronage from the ruling party. Strikingly the government has admitted to its failure to check crime against police force in the state assembly.<

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

Sonia Gandhi President, Indian National Congress

Rahul Gandhi

Heartiest

Vice President, Indian National Congress

Congratulations at the

68th Independence Day

Ajit Jogi

Amit Jogi

Former Chief Minister, Chhattisgarh

Congress MLA Marwahi

BIHAR

POLITICAL ALLIANCES AGAINST BJP

By Lokayat Correspondent

en by-elections in Bihar this month would test the BJP’s true strength in the state. The outcome will also be seen as a reflection on the performance of the Modi government at the Centre. That is why these by-elections will be contested as intensely as the Lok Sabha elections which brought a surprising victory for the BJP. The so-called secular parties had failed to read the writings on the wall on the eve of the Lok Sabha poll that communal politics was Shocked and rattled at their humiliating defeat at going to occupy the vacuum created by the the hands of the Bharatiya Janata Party, leaders Congress’ failure at the Centre. More than anything else egos of leaders about their selfof the traditional centrist secular parties—the worth disallowed formation of a strong preCongress, RJD and JD-U—in Bihar have now poll alliance. Besides, a votary of secularism, decided to shed their egos and sink their Ram Vilas Paswan who was hurt by the attitude of the Congress was forced to join the differences to jointly fight the saffron party in BJP bandwagon. the coming by-elections. If this attempt succeeds, Seeing all that, it is no surprise that the it will impact future national politics as well. vanquished buried their differences quickly. They rightly diagnosed that their defeat was on account of the division of secular forces. This realisation has resulted in the coalition of the Congress, RJD and the ruling JD-U. This was unthinkable ten days ago when Congress leaders of Bihar met at Sadaqat Ashram for a brainstorming session and decided that they should contest alone as their vote bank usually got lost in allying with other parties and, in any case, it had nothing much to gain from such partnering. But the same Congress has now changed its mind. The credit in knitting the alliance, however, should go to Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav—both of which are committed to arrest the spread of saffron politics in Bihar. Nitish had already shown his large-heartedness when he readily resigned as CM on moral grounds soon after the defeat at the hustings. Good sense also prevailed during the Rajya Sabha polls held a few weeks after the Lok Sabha rout. The secular unity managed to beat the BJP’s design to thrash JD-U candidates. The logical next step, of course, was to contest all ten Assembly seats under a secular umbrella; this is now happening. Surprisingly there has been no bickering about seat-sharing. The Congress would contest on two seats and the JD-U and RJD four each. The BJP’s Sushil Modi has termed the new political alignment as an ‘unholy alliance’ which the people of Bihar will not accept. The Left group also thinks the Bihar electorate will reject this ‘opportunistic’ alliance of parties all of which believe in the exploitation of the poor. Maintaining its strident note against the BJP and calling it ‘communal’, the three left parties –the CPI, CPM and CPI-ML-- have also formed a coalition to take on the BJP. The CPI-ML would contest on 5 seats, CPM on three and CPI two. Left forces had contested the assembly elections in 2010 separately and drawn blank. The CPI and CPM had contested the recent Lok Sabha elections in partnership with the JD-U, but lost. Political observers feel that disintegration of left forces had largely helped the BJP in Bihar and hence it would be seen as a good sign that in the name of checking the BJP they had decided to contest jointly. Meanwhile the BJP inspired dissent in the JD-U is again raising its head, the same way it did during the Rajya Sabha polls. Whatever happens in the by-elections, its impact at the national level RJD chief Lalu Prasad would be great and result in a new alignment of political forces.<

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

MAHARASHTRA

HAGGLING OVER SEAT SHARING Circumstances are most propitious for the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance to win the coming elections in Maharashtra, the richest and politically second-most powerful state after Uttar Pradesh. Unfortunately disputes have sprung up among the alliance partners which Amit Shah is trying hard to resolve so as not to miss the bus after 15 years in the wilderness, especially when the Congress-NCP ruling partnership is at the nadir of its popularity, besides being plagued by infighting by its several chief ministerial aspirants. Disgruntled Congress leader and industries minister Narayan Rane, who resigned from the Maharashtra cabinet, at a press conference in Mumbai (PTI photo)

By Lokayat Correspondent

oth the major political alliances—NCP-Congress and BJP-Shiv Sena— in Maharashtra are hobbled by tough seat-sharing haggling. The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance seems to be a favourite of the electorate this time, raising hopes of its returning to power after 15 years of CongressNCP rule which has been marked by

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numerous controversies and corruption cases. For their misrule the electorate had severely punished the ruling combine in the recent Lok Sabha elections—the Congress tally came down to 2 from 17 and the NCP to 4 from 8 in 2009. Curiously, even in defeat the NCP claimed to have done better. It indeed did perform better than the Congress and it is on this basis that it demands more seats this time. The NCP’s chief

ministerial aspirant Ajit Pawar insists that the ground situation should not be lost sight of. He claims, not only in the Lok Sabha poll but also in local government elections the NCP has performed better. Then why should it be treated as a junior partner? Unlike last time it must be given 50 percent of the total seats; in 2009 it was given only 113 seats while the Congress had kept the lion’s share-- 170 seats. Chief minister Prithviraj Chauhan is not amenable to the argument and has threatened that the Congress might go solo if it does not get an honourable share. However, everybody is looking to the NCP supremo Sharad Pawar to sort out issues with Sonia Gandhi and arrive at an agreeable deal. Ajit Pawar’s chief ministerial ambition is not the only bone of contention. Former chief minister Narayan Rane, who had left the Shiv Sena to join the Congress in 2005, is also mounting pressure that he should be made the leader of the Congress Legislature Party after the elections. To add heat to his demand he resigned as the industry minister a few days ago but the resignation has not been accepted by the chief minister. His accusations against the state leadership are piling up by the day. His main charge is that the high command did not fulfil the promises made to him when he joined the Congress a decade ago. He says he was promised the post of chief minister after six months of joining the party. Moreover, he is targetting current incumbent Prithviraj Chavan for not doing anything to curb corruption and for his slow-going on vital issues. According to him Chavan’s style of functioning was the main reason for the defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. But knowledgeable people say, since Rane’s son Nilesh lost the RatnagiriSindhudurg Lok Sabha seat to the Shiv Sena, he is worried about his very political future. He accuses that the Nationalist Congress Party conspired to ensure his son's defeat. The Congress high command is undecided about how Rane, who had

MAHARASHTRA been Shiv Sena’s chief minister for nine months in 1999, should be placated. A dynamic leader, he is indeed immensely popular in Konkan. But Sonia Gandhi has rejected his and others’ demand to remove Chavan at this juncture. She is firm that the assembly poll will be contested in Chavan’s leadership only. Though Rane has stated that he would not leave the Congress, speculations are rife about his being in touch with the BJP, which is in need of a really popular Maratha face after the sudden demise of its sole mass leader in the state, Gopinath Munde. But the Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has warned Amit Shah not to admit him into the BJP at any cost. It may be recalled that Rane was expelled from the Shiv Sena for raising the banner of revolt against Uddhav Thackeray in 2005. The tension between the two saffron partners on this score has grown so much that speculations about the two contesting the election separately have started gathering credence in the media. However, having tasted the juicy fruit of coalition in the Lok Sabha poll, Amit Shah is averse to fighting the coming poll alone. But the alliance is not out of the bargaining blues as the BJP wants to contest on more seats as it has shown better performance in the Lok Sabha elections—it won 23 seats while the Shiv Sena bagged 18. But the latter has rejected outright the BJP’s demand for 15 more seats than it contested in 2009 (when it fought on 119 seats while the Shiv Sena contested on 167 in the 288member house). The dispute is not only about the number of seats, the BJP wants to call the shots in all matters relating to the elections. But Uddhav is not budging. He has even threatened that the Shiv Sena may go it alone. Satisfying everybody in the ‘Mahayuti’ alliance is becoming even more difficult as smaller allies such as the Republican Party of India (Athvale), Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana and the Rashtriya Samaj Paksha are also demanding their share in the pudding--50 seats in all. There is another important player, Mahrashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS)

who can make or mar the chances of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance though such a fear did not materialize to the extent it was deemed in the Lok Sabha elections. The alliance leaders heaved a sigh of

There is no dearth of issues in the elections. The Congress-NCP partnership would focus on the Modi government’s performance as its main election plank. Recently the incident of

Newly-appointed BJP president Amit Shah at a meeting with the party’s Maharashtra leaders in New Delhi (PTI photo)

Rane has stated that he would not leave Congress, speculations are rife about his being in touch with the BJP, which is in need of a really popular Maratha face after the sudden demise of its sole mass leader in the state, Gopinath Munde. But the Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has warned Amit Shah not to admit him into the BJP at any cost. relief when the MNS did not win a single seat--it got only 1.5 percent votes, far less than even the fledgling Aam Aadmi Party which secured 2.2 percent. But in 2009 the MNS had been devastating—it contested 143 seats and won 13 by securing 11.88 percent votes, and spoiled the chances of the Shiv Sena in many constituencies. It was then alleged that the MNS was propped up by the ruling coalition (Congress-NCP) to cut into the votes of the Shiv Sena. This time, according to its senior leader Pravin Darekar, the MNS is planning to contest all assembly seats. Its chief Raj Thackeray is exhorting party workers to renew their contacts with voters and take up popular issues everywhere.

alleged force-feeding of a Ramzanobserving Muslim employee has come handy to target the Shiv Sena. The Shiv Sena on its part has found a cause célèbre--the Belgaum border issue in which Marathas were beaten up mercilessly by the (Congress-ruled) Karnataka police --to agitate. The opposition camps are likely to continue with ready themes of corruption, poor development growth and farmers’ suicides which had proven hard-hitting during the Lok Sabha elections. To tide over the anti-incumbency problem the ruling alliance has moved fast to placate Marathas and Muslims by giving reservation to both communities.<

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

UTTARAKHAND

CRUSHING BLOW TO BJP WITHIN 2-MONTHS OF MODI SARKAAR By Lokayat Correspondent

rushing defeat of all three BJP candidates in the Uttarakhand assembly bypolls at the hands of the Congress within two months of Modi government assuming office at the Centre was an unexpected blow. None, not even the worst BJP critics, anticipated this to happen in the wake of the recent landslide win of the party in Uttarakhand where it had snatched all five Lok Sabha seats from the Congress with huge margins. The saffron party had got 55.3 percent of total votes cast, while the Congress trailed far behind with just 34 percent. Now two months later the vote share of the BJP in Uttarakhand byelections has come down to 35.37 percent while the Congress’ has gone up to 60.05 percent. Is this the first indication that people who got swayed by TV propaganda about Gujarat model now realise their mistake? At least the Congress thinks so. Failure of the Modi government in all the fronts during the first two months has turned the people towards the Congress again, said Sonia Gandhi. Truly, it is an early warning to selfindulgent, arrogant and coercive BJP leaders to introspect-- many of them are misusing the police to harass opposition party workers. They are largely in a honey-moon mood, singing paeans of Narendra Modi. But in a functional democracy, they cannot not have the luxury to assume that having got the single party majority at the Centre, they are invincible for all time to come. They would have to deliver the promised

| LOKAYAT AUGUST, 2014

‘achche din’ to people. But BJP leaders have not admitted any mistake on their part. One of them said they lost in Uttarakhand because of

Triumphant Harish Rawat

to the same tactics it had used during the Lok Sabha polls by stoking undesirable sentiments in Moradabad and Saharanpur. For Harish Rawat, the Uttarakhand victory has happened at the right time as his government was surviving at the mercy of the seven-member PDF consisting of the BSP, UKD and independents while intra-party dissidence by previous chief minister Vijay Bahuguna’s supporters was keeping him jittery all the time. The BJP’s former chief minister Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri had been putting

Doiwala (Polling 67.78 percent) BJP

Trivendra Singh Rawat

29,468

42.65 pc

Congress

Heera Singh Bisht

35,980

52.07 pc

Dharchula (Polling 52.49 percent) BJP

Bishnu Dutt

10,610

24.75 pc

Congress

Harish Rawat

31,214

72.83 pc

Someshwar (SC) (Polling 54.93 percent) BJP

Moh]an Ram Arya

13,196

34.14 pc

Congress

Rekha Arya

23,241

60.14 pc

low turnout and local conditions. But internally Amit Shah and his team must be worried as the party has to face several by-elections in August, most notably 11 assembly seats in UP and 10 in Bihar. In UP it indeed seems to have become proactive and started resorting

pressure by asking the Congress government to resign on moral grounds after losing public support as evidenced by the loss of all five Lok Sabha seats. By getting three more seats in the byelections, the Congress has acquired its own majority in the assembly.<

HIMACHAL PRADESH

NO, THIS DEFEAT— NOT AN EYE-OPENER Despite a humiliating defeat, the Congress party and Vir Bhadra Singh government seem unconcerned about quickly addressing the reasons that ensured their defeat. The party bosses are rather busy passing the buck at the lower level. The government on its part shockingly has not awakened to the need of improving its service delivery. By Lokayat Correspondent

ver one-and-half-years after ousting the BJP from power in the state, the Virbhadra Singh-led Congress faced humiliating defeat in all four Lok Sabha seats with the saffron party making a clean sweep. The defeat has come as a big eye opener for the under- performing Virbhadra government as well as the divided party organisation. A big reason for the Congress defeat in the hill state remains the poor service delivery by the Virbhadra government at different levels. The slackness in the party to perform on ground and act as a bridge between the people and the government has added to the mess the party is finding itself in Himachal Pradesh despite a mass leader like Virbhadra Singh at the helm of affairs. To the people’s disappointment, the Virbhadra government has so far worked with a derailed focus, which has more to do with vigilance inquiries against previous BJP regime and the Prem Kumar Dhumal family in particular, than ensure service to people.

Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee president Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu

Even with six times chief minister, Virbhadra Singh—who was always known as a tough administrator— the Congress government has not been able to connect with people with its policies and programmes. With the lack of focus on the government’s part, even the bureaucrats appear to be

working at cross purposes and badly engrossed in settling personal scores with colleagues than working for the welfare of people by ensuring implementation of schemes for their benefit. The official environs are so vitiated at the moment that the officers and employees at all levels fear taking decisions, even in public interest, for the political wrath that they may have to face with the change of government. There have been failures in implementation of public schemes like ration subsidy, school uniforms and social security pension, affecting the people directly. But surprisingly, neither the government, nor the party talks about it. The government, which did not take any major steps to improve functioning for better service delivery to the people after defeat, has only accommodated more politicians (mostly those defeated in assembly polls) on posts of chairmen and vice chairmen. In his bid to put the blame at lower level, the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) chief, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu dissolved 34 out of 68 Block Congress Committees (BCCs), where Congress was defeated by over 5,000 votes. But even it backfired as the move upset several Congress leaders who see it an attempt to show door to their supporters for no fault of theirs. The former HPCC chief and Rajya Sabha MP, Viplove Thakur was quick to point out that top leaders, chief minister and the PCC chief, should take the onus of defeat rather than passing the buck and penalizing the lowest unit of the party. It’s time perhaps not to skirt real reasons but address them.<

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

HARYANA

HOODA MOVE RATTLES AKALIS

Politics over religious shrines divide people to fight against each other. The latest issue is whether Haryana Sikhs can be allowed to manage their Gurudwaras as is the case in Delhi, Bihar and Maharashtra where Sikh shrines are not under the Amritsar-based Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. Haryana Sikhs have been demanding to have their own control over their shrines for many years, which continued to be deferred due to one reason or the other. Now when an Act has been made by the Haryana government to allow Haryana SGPC to manage their shrines, the issue is being politicised keeping the forthcoming elections in Haryana in mind. Parties have chosen to decide their stands from the angle of political gains or losses. By Jyoti Thakur from Chandigarh

unjab and Haryana have often fought over issues like sharing of water, territory and even the state capital Chandigarh. The neighboring states are again in confrontation over the management of

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Gurudwaras (Sikh shrines) in Haryana. Haryana Sikhs had been demanding for long that they be allowed to manage their own shrines. The Congress included this demand in its manifesto in 2005 and repeated the same in 2009, which remained unfulfilled. Now before the forthcoming assembly elections it has

enacted a law acceding Sikhs’ demand. But rival parties saw in this a Congress government’s attempt to lure Sikhs to buttress its declining popularity as was evidenced in the recent Lok Sabha elections. The controversial act would not only impact politics in Haryana but in Punjab as well. No wonder, the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab cried foul by terming it as a ploy to divide the community. The Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal was so perturbed that he even threatened to resign to lead an agitation to prevent the ad-hoc committee of Haryana Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (HSGPC) from taking over 72 Gurudwaras in the state which are at present managed by the Amritsar-based SGPC. Passions are being stoked on the issue and the tension over the issue is mounting fuelling fears of a showdown, as the SGPC and SAD sent men to Haryana shrines to prevent forcible takeover by the state supported body. Modi government at the Centre is worried at this ugly prospect as it would harm BJP in both the neighbouring states, Haryana and Punjab. Under pressure from SAD, the union home ministry directed Haryana to withdraw the Bill passed in the state assembly for a separate HSGPC saying ‘it is not as per the law’. But Bhupinder Singh Hooda government reminded the critics that following the then governor Jagannath Pahadia’s assent to the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara (Management) Bill 2014, it has now become an Act and can only be challenged in the court of law. Hooda maintains that whatever was done by his government was ‘as per the demand of Sikhs in Haryana’ and they have been granted ‘self-determination’ as it’s the case in Delhi, Bihar and Maharashtra where the Sikh shrines are not under the SGPC. With Hooda government refusing to buckle under pressure from Modi government, a fuming Badal warned he would die at the altar of the Akal Takht but not allow the religious body to separate. SAD

HARYANA announced a World Sikh Convention in Amritsar to decide the course of action in the matter. In retaliation, the HSGPC announced similar convention in Karnal a day after the one in Amritsar. But the standoff between bitter opposing groups was averted after the Akal Takht—the highest temporal seat of the Sikh religion—directed the warring factions to call off the planned congregations and promised to call a meeting of Sikh high priests and senior Sikh leaders later to resolve the issue. This Akal Takht directive came

dominated by the SAD, controls gurdwaras across Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh. There are 72 gurdwaras in Haryana under the SGPC which has a Rs 950crore budget. A separate Haryana SGPC means loss of both vote and support in the Sikh community for the Akali Dal in Haryana. It stands to lose the 18 lakh-strong Sikh community which forms about six percent of Haryana population but they have sizeable votes in the districts of Karnal, Kurukshetra and Ambala. This comes at a time when the

Bhupinder Singh Hooda government reminded his critics that following the then governor Jagannath Pahadia’s assent to the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara (Management) Bill 2014, it has now become an Act and can only be challenged in the court of law.

President of Haryana Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee Jagdish Singh Jhinda along with other members arrive to pay obeisance at GoldenTemple in Amritsar. (PTI photo)

after a worried BJP pressurised the SAD to diffuse the situation that is turning into a serious conflict between the Sikhs of Punjab and Haryana. For the time being the situation, packed with the possibility of flaring up the frayed tempers and stoking communal flames was saved from taking an ugly turn, but a permanent solution to what appears to be nowhere in sight. Many observers believe the Punjab chief minister is fighting a losing battle but is using the issue to tighten his losing grip over Sikh politics. Opposition Congress sees it as a bid to cover ‘across-the-board nonperformance and brazen corruption’ in the state government. The SGPC, the mini parliament of Sikh religious affairs which is

SAD is preparing to make its presence felt outside Punjab. The party will contest the Haryana assembly polls and hopes to help Om Prakash Chautala’s party, the Indian national Lok Dal (INLD) in returning to power. Since SGPC is controlled by the SAD, an even bigger loss for it is the more than Rs 200 crore in hard cash and kind from the gurdwaras of Haryana annually. In fact, the two are interlinked for it is often said that whoever controls the Gurdwara Golak (offering box), dominates Sikh politics. Didar Singh Nalvi, one of the top separate SGPC movement leaders in Haryana, says SGPC always ill-treated the Haryana body. ‘Out of the nearly Rs 200 crore offerings to the gurdwaras

of Haryana, hardly Rs 30 crore is spend on the maintenance of the state gurdwaras, while Punjab has been pocketing the rest of the money all these years. Haryana is our own state. The gurdwaras and all their properties belong to us. We are capable of managing our own affairs. Why should SGPC Punjab have control over us and our gurdwaras?’ he asks. However, SGPC president, Avtar Singh Makkar is not convinced. ‘It is necessary to have one supreme national body with members from all states to work unitedly for the community. What

is happening now is not religious. It is political,’ he says. With the BJP-led government at the Centre remains the SAD’s only hope in the matter. The new Haryana governor and senior BJP leader Kaptan Singh Solanki has hinted at the review of the legality of the HSGPC Act. But the BJP fears siding with SAD will hurt its chances in Haryana assembly elections, so may not act to the Punjab ally's satisfaction till elections are over in October. But with the case reaching the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the petition filed by a Punjab lawyer, even chances of an extra-judicial intervention by the governor or the central Government are remote at the moment.<

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

RAJASTHAN

WHY IS RAJASTHAN NOT INDIA’S HOLLAND ? Until a few years ago, every third tourist coming to India used to visit Rajasthan. The land of forts and palaces, beautiful sand dunes, heritage hotels, Ranthambhore and Ghana sanctuaries, exclusive handicrafts, traditions and what not…The land has so much to offer to domestic and overseas tourists. But it seems in recent years, it has lost its place as one of the prime tourist destinations in the country. That is why chief minister Vasundhara Raje had to announce in her budget a strong pledge and schemes galore to regain tourist influx.

By Abha Sharma from Jaipur

hile presenting first budget, Raje said the state has such a rich legacy and plethora of attractions that it could well be India’s Holland. But the recent CAG report indicates all is not well with the state’s milch cow. The Comptroller and Auditor General’s report says Rajasthan is now well behind other states in attracting tourists. The inflow of overseas tourists in India recorded an increase from 51.75 lakh in 2007-2008 to 66.94 lakh in 2012-13 but the percentage share of tourists visiting Rajasthan miserably declined from 30.61 per cent to 21.68 per cent. The CAG report on RTDC

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(Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation) has revealed that it has failed in providing adequate services to the tourists. RTDC runs 45 hotels and two tourist trains but there is a marked decline in the number of both domestic and foreign tourists using RTDC accommodation. The numbers declined from 2.21 lakh in 2007-08 to 1.71 lakh in 201213. What could be the major cause of concern for Rajasthan tourism is the fact that RTDC hotels even at famous tourist places failed to beckon tourists due to poor infrastructure, inadequate services and high tariff rates. The CAG report also highlighted the fact that the company did not pay any attention to prepare any action plan, short term or long term for tourism promotion in the state. In

addition, no steps were taken to implement Tourism Policy and there was huge disparity in budget targets and actual realisation. To regain the lost glory of Rajasthan on tourism map, Raje government plans to restart Rajasthan Day festivities on a large scale once again. For chief minister believes once a festival is popular, it comes synonymous with a state or country’s identity like the Tomatino festival with Spain and Goa Carnival. The previous Gehlot government had discontinued the tradition of celebrating Rajasthan Day as festival terming it ‘naach gaana’. The festival had drawn flak from other quarters as well, though, not for the same reasons cited by the Congress regime. There was resentment from local artistes that

RAJASTHAN

Metro and Refinery controversy ver since she came to power, chief minister Vasundhara Raje has been highly critical of Jaipur Metro and Barmer Refinery, the two most ambitious projects of the previous Congress regime. Even while presenting the state budget for 2014-2015, Raje did not forget to target former chief minister Ashok Gehlot for lack of wisdom in initiating both the projects. Raje said the poor financial legacy left by Gehlot was even worse than his previous tenure of 1998-2003. She said Gehlot government decided to make an investment of more than Rs 3,000 crore to launch Metro Rail for a short distance of 12 kilometre. In financial terms, it was not at all a good decision and she reiterated that the huge investment could well be utilised to build at least 110 road over-bridges or a road network of 5,000 kilometres in the state. Not just this, the state will have to bear an additional loss of Rs 60 to 80 crores annually to run the Metro. That means, the rural Rajasthan will be deprived of 30-40 km of roads every year. If experts are to be believed, Jaipur Metro Project was a hasty decision and unnecessary hasty action was to get the Metro Train. Commercial operation on Metro track from Chand Pole to Badi Chaupar in the walled city of Jaipur will commence after 44 months, i.e. in year 2018. But the Gehlot government decided to buy even for this phase two Metro Trains worth Rs 100 crore in 2012, which would just catch rust for almost three and half years. Raje said since a huge amount of Rs 2,100 crore in Phase 1A has already been invested, her government could not leave it unutilised because doing so would lead to further losses. If her government decides to defer Phase 1-b, it would lead to further operational losses, so her government would complete it. Similarly, Raje has also decided to renegotiate the Refinery cum Petrochemical Complex deal done by Gehlot government with Hindustan Petroleum. Raje took a dig at the financial wisdom of former chief minister Gehlot in making a commitment to give an interest free loan of Rs 3,736 crores for a period of fifteen years. Thus, the public has been burdened with an interest free loan of Rs 56,000 crore. In 15 years, the profit from this project would be more than Rs 68,000 crore. It is indeed a highly fruitful venture but the state government’s share capital was just 26 per cent. ‘It was a unique package which involved our land, our finances, our natural resources but no substantial holding. We will renegotiate on this project,’ she asserted in state assembly.<

outstation artists were invited to perform while the locals were almost neglected. The Rajasthan Day should be a showcase of state’s folk culture, not a platform to showcase outstation talents was the general opinion. Of the new tourism projects proposed by Raje in her budget, development of Sambhar Lake town is a significant one. The place has so far remained hidden from tourists’ eyes despite being one of the world wetlands and a great historical, mythological and cultural heritage. Raje announced to spend over Rs 37 crore for developing infrastructure in the heritage town, also known for the ancient pilgrim spots like Devyani, Sharmishtha and Mata Shakambhari temple. In addition, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Pali, Mount Abu and Sambhar Lake will be developed as Mega Desert Tourist Circuit. Under this project, heritage conservation, landscaping and tourism facilities will be developed with an allocation of Rs 50 crore. Ranthambhore Tiger Sanctuary is one of the most popular tourism destinations will be further developed besides better facilities in many other tourist spots like Alwar, Bundi, Jhalawar and Deeg forts.<

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

PUNJAB

POLL REVERSES FORCE

PUNJAB TO WAR AGAINST DRUGS SAD-BJP government awakened to the grim reality of the drug problem in Punjab, but only after an unexpected drubbing in the recently held Lok Sabha elections despite Modi wave. Government appears to be acting tough but opposition parties remain sceptical as it is hauling up mainly drug addicts, not the real culprits, big suppliers and producers, who are roaming free under political protection.

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PUNJAB By Lokayat Correspondent

he menace of drugs became a big issue in Lok Sabha elections in Punjab. Opposition parties cornered the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) over the alleged involvement of its leaders in the trade. As a result, despite Modi wave, the SAD-BJP alliance managed to win just six of the 13 Lok Saba seats. While the Congress managed to win three, the new entrant, anti-graft Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which made drugs the main talking point, won four seats with an encouraging vote share of 24 per cent. This dismal performance in the Lok Sabha forced Parkash Singh Badal government to declare a ‘war against drugs’ immediately after the results. In the first three days of the drive, the police confiscated 2.5 kg of heroin, 3.75 kg of opium and 377 kg of poppy husk. As many as 3,353 arrests of drugs peddlers were made and 3,000 cases registered in first 15 days. The government also dismissed 25 SHOs for suspected links with drug racketeers. Punjab State Narcotics Control Bureau—headed by inspector general of police Ishwar Singh was given a free hand to choose his team, which is supposed to be ‘independent’ of the Punjab Police. The government has also asked the High Court of Punjab and Haryana to set up fast-track courts for drug-related trials. The courts have also been urged to confiscate properties of drug lords. But opposition parties remain sceptical of how earnest the ‘war’ is. ‘The state government has arrested hundreds of addicts, mostly youth. While they arrest consumers, none of the big suppliers or producers has been arrested so far,’ says former chief minister and Lok Sabha member from Amritsar, Captain Amarinder Singh. No surprise then that while the

Badal government is patting itself for this war against drugs, questions were raised on the anti drugs drive and methods used to register the cases under it. Drug addicts were allegedly picked up after being labelled as ‘smugglers’. The fact that a big number of first information reports (FIR) registered under the drive look like photocopy of each other have only added fuel to their ire. These FIRs mention how drug carriers when arrested were carrying narcotics in their right pocket or in bags on the right shoulder, they ran to the left after seeing a cop and no cash was found on their person. Almost all arrests have no witnesses except for the policemen. During his visit to the Bhatinda jail earlier this month, chief minister Badal was informed by many of the arrested 'drug smugglers' that they were addicts wrongly rounded up at the instance of sleuths. Badal spent more than three hours in the prison to get a first-hand account of the problems of drug addicts. So far, the police claim to have arrested 27,000 drug peddlers since the operation commenced on May 20. Sources said a number of FIRs were registered purely on the basis of inputs, and the quantity of narcotics seized was much below the expectation. The sharp difference between the number of peddlers arrested and the quantity of narcotics recovered clearly points that the arrested people are either small-time peddlers or addicts. In some cases, the weight of drugs seized is barely between one to two grammes.

Elections are fought on drugs money Apart from setback in elections, another key reason for the latest crackdown on drugs is the fact that the state government used to blame the Centre for the drug trade in Punjab and link it to lack of fool proof border manned by the forces

under the control of union government. ‘Punjab is an international transit route for the flow of drugs from Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir and most of the drug inflow in Punjab is from Pakistan,’ deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal used to say. This despite the fact that in last November, a 1,000-kg haul of drugs seized was found to have been processed in various cities across Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. Whispers of an alleged policepolitician nexus running a drug cartel in Punjab gained ground ever since a wrestler-turned-drug supplier, Jagdish Singh Bhola, earlier this year claimed that he had funded the electoral campaigns of many politicians. He alleged that Bikram Singh Majithia, the state government’s revenue minister and brother- in-law of the deputy CM, was a key figure in the drug cartel—a charge that Majithia denied as baseless. The opposition, however, is demanding a CBI probe that the Badal government has ignored so far. Also, three months ago, former director general of police of prisons of Punjab Shashi Kant named some politicians that allegedly were involved in the illicit drug trade; he also claimed that senior police officers were aware of these operations. In the latest, the name of Gidderbaha’s Congress legislator Amrinder Singh Raja Warring has cropped up in a drug scandal after an alleged peddler reportedly revealed to have funded his election campaign. In his defence, Warring claimed the police had targeted him at the behest of the Badal government. The drugs problem is a complex one and cannot be solved without cleansing the politics. Just locking up a few thousand addicts or even a few big ones won’t help. But with angry electorate in the state, the Punjab government has no option but to appear making attempts to clean up the system.<

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

JAMMU & KASHMIR

BJP DREAMS OF OCCUPYING DRIVER’S SEAT IN KASHMIR Dr Jitendra Singh represents Jammu & Kashmir in the Modi cabinet. He is going to be of immense help for the BJP to repeat its stunning performance in the forthcoming assembly elections.

By Umanath

ust before the coming assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the National Conference and the Congress have ended their alliance by mutual consent. They would contest elections on their own steam as they did in 2008. But the political situation is much different now. The elections will be held in the back-drop of both the Congress and National Conference losing badly in the Lok Sabha elections and the BJP surprisingly bagging three seats and the PDP sweeping the remaining three. The BJP recorded a vote share of 32.4 percent by contesting all six seats while the Congress was at the second place with 22.9 percent by contesting three seats. The Congress had contested in alliance with the National Conference. After an unexpected victory in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is on the cloud nine. Some sympathetic journalists have written that the BJP can occupy the driver’s seat by repeating the

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The BJP is on the cloud nine having won three of the six Lok Sabha seats in Jammu & Kashmir reducing the Congress-National Conference alliance to naught in the keenly contested elections. The alliance is now broken. It would be interesting to see which party is benefitted by this development—Bhartiya Janata Party or People’s Democratic Party.

performance in the coming assembly elections. Interestingly there is some possibility of a pact between the BJP and the separatist-turned-mainstream politician Sajjad Gani Lone’s People’s Conference, which had secured two percent votes by contesting in just one constituency-- Baramulla. Currently under the new party president Amit Shah, the BJP has planned Mission 44 plus. But even if it emerges as the largest single party with its increased popularity in Jammu area, it may look to form a coalition government with other parties. If this happens it would open a new chapter in the annals of the state.

Does the BJP stand a chance? The million dollar question is, how does a Hindu nationalist party like the BJP stand a chance to rule a state where Islam is practiced by around 67 percent of the population. Divided into three regions—Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh-- Jammu is the single region where the Hindus form the majority

with 67 percent of population, while the Sikhs constitute around four percent and the rest the Muslims. However, the Kashmir valley where the majority of assembly seats lie, 97 percent people are Muslims, where the contest would be between the Congress, National Conference and the People’s Democratic Party. Ladakh region is dominated by 47 percent Buddhists. Here too the BJP would have to face a tough fight as its Lok Sabha candidate Thupstan Chhewang could win the seat just by 36 votes. The saffron party’s ‘Mission 44plus’ looks too ambitious when 46 out of the total 87 assembly seats fall in the Kashmir valley and only 37 seats are in Jammu and four in Ladakh. The party in Jammu region is ridden with dissidence. In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the BJP riding on Modi wave may have won both Jammu and Udhampur seats but the internal bickering now may mar their chances. The factionalism resulted in the suspension of seven of its 11 MLAs. Besides, Chaman Lal Gupta, the most prominent face of the party, was

JAMMU & KASHMIR The BJP is in talks with some other valley-based parties also and is said to be open to post-poll alliances with smaller Muslim political groups in the valley. The effort in this regard is gaining momentum with some Muslim leaders joining the party. Former IGP Farooq Khan and Heena Bhat, daughter of former MP Muhammad Shafi Bhat are new additions to the list of high profile Muslims joining the party and many more are said to be keen to join the BJP bandwagon.

Ghulam Nabi Azad, leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, on whom the Congress depends to revive its fortunes in J&K

expelled from it. Under a reconciliation bid, the party revoked the suspension of six MLAs but again another party stalwart Nirmal Singh, who has a good support base in Jammu region, raised a rebellion, as he wanted to be fielded from the Jammu Lok Sabha seat. However, the party chose state chief Jugul Kishore Sharma. The party boasts that it can win at least five seats from Kashmir region though in the Lok Sabha elections in most of the seats it got around just five thousand votes on an average in constituencies of 3 to 4 lakh people.

PDP replaces NC as voice of the valley The PDP of Mehbooba Mufti which won all three LS seats—Srinagar, Baramulla and Anantnag of the valley— has displaced the NC of Omar Abdullah and is sure to give a tough fight to both the Congress and the National Conference. With clear

disenchantment with the National Conference, the PDP has emerged as the voice of the valley. Omar may be making all out efforts like lifting the ban on SMS on prepaid phones which was imposed in the state in 2010. He is also assuring jobs to families of over 100 killed in stone-pelting and street protests in 2010 and afterwards in a bid to win back Kashmiri hearts, but they hardly appear ready to forgive him. In Jammu and Ladakh regions the BJP does stand a good chance, but in the valley it is very difficult to penetrate. Many analysts believe it would be difficult for the BJP to even open its account in the valley as Muslims in general are averse to have any truck with the saffron party. In 2008 the election outcome was a hung assembly with the NC winning 28, PDP 21, Congress 17, BJP 11 and Panther Party 3. The current electoral trend in the country is to give clear majority to a single party. Let us watch what happens in Jammu & Kashmir!<

BJP Seeking Muslim Alliance Partners in J&K Curiously, to achieve its Mission the BJP is in search of partnerships with valley-based Muslim parties. It has already held discussions with the separatist-turned-mainstream politician Sajjad Gani Lone’s People’s Conference, as his party has a strong base in at least five assembly seats in Kupwara district. This move may give the BJP a wider space in the valley as Sajjad’s brother Bilal Gani Lone is executive member of the moderate Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. Sajjad’s father and prominent separatist leader Abdul Gani Lone was killed in 2002 during a rally.

Mehbooba Mufti, leader of the People’s Democratic Party, expects to turn the tables on all parties in Kashmir (PTI photo)

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

WEST BENGAL

DIDI SHEDS

‘CONFRONTATIONAL’ West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee

STANCE

With the Bharatiya Janata Party trying to become a political force to reckon with in West Bengal, chief minister Mamata Banerjee has called for a struggle against Modi government’s anti-people decisions. She has warned people against any attempt to disturb the secular fabric of the state. At the same time, she does not want unnecessarily to upset the apple cart of centre-state relations. By Lokayat Correspondent

amata Banerjee seems to have become more realistic, seasoned and diplomatic in her politicking in recent months. Well aware of the changing political landscape in her state, she has decided to launch a political struggle against the BJP’s so-called communal agenda, but at the same time she does not want to fritter away her political capital by taking on the Modi government all the time and on all issues. There is a reality that the Left as a whole and the CPI (M) in particular are in decay in the state which was once known as their ‘citadel’. The Congress is also out of reckoning while the BJP is growing fast and posing a threat to the Trinamool Congress (TMC). The BJP’s vote share was 16.8 percent in the recent Lok Sabha elections, which is only six percent less than that scored by the CPI (M). The saffron party has taken full advantage of its remarkable electoral gain and is working overtime to attract disgruntled members of other parties into its fold. Three Forward Bloc leaders

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switched over to the BJP along with 1,000 cadres last month. There are a lot of people who have been deeply hurt by the outrageous behaviour of CPI (M) and TMC cadres. An important political poser in that context is, whether West Bengal will

After winning just two seats, they (BJP leaders) have unleashed a barrage of propaganda and are telling many lies. Despite that in the next election they will not get even those two seats; at any rate the number will not cross two, says Mamata Banerjee.

lose the secular character of its politics in the onward march of the BJP. And if the answer is ‘yes’, who should be the right leader to try and ensure its secular

values’ survival? To be sure, at this political juncture the TMC alone has the capacity to do this. Mamata is concerned and is making right noises about this. Recently in a mega ‘thanks-giving rally’ named ‘Maa Maati Manush Divas' organised by her party in Kolkata, she called for a movement against Narendra Modi government which had increased prices of many essential commodities within a month of coming to power. She assured her supporters that the BJP would not become a major political force in West Bengal as there was no place for a ‘communal party’ in the state. She thundered: ‘After winning just two seats they have unleashed a barrage of propaganda and are telling many lies. But in the next election, they will not get even those two seats. At any rate the number of seats will not cross two.’ The municipal polls which may be held later this year or early in 2015 will reveal the ground political reality with more clarity. But one thing is sure--the Modi government will get exposed sooner than later. The Uttarakhand bypolls are an indicator: the BJP lost all three seats within two months of making a clean sweep there.

WEST BENGAL There is no doubt the BJP is trying to improve its organisational structure in West Bengal. After the Lok Sabha elections, there was substantial support to the BJP. But the TMC is also strengthening its base. As many as 13 MLAs from different political parties including the Congress, CPI (M), Forward Bloc and RSP have joined the TMC since May 2011 when Mamata took over as chief minister. Four MLAs, three from the Congress and one from the CPI (M) joined the TMC at the Kolkata rally in the presence of Mamata. The CM is aware of the misdeeds of her party workers across the state and she has cautioned them against extortion and holding out threats. A general complaint heard in the state is that only the ruling party has changed, whatever atrocities CPI (M) cadres used to inflict on people, the TMC workers are continuing. Modi-bashing is restrained now As a sign of diplomatic gesture, lately her criticism of the BJP government has been restrained. While she lambasted the Modi government’s first rail budget stridently, on amending the TRAI Bill which ensured Nripendra Mishra’s appointment as principal secretary to Narendra Modi, the TMC suddenly changed its stance. It revealed the two-pronged strategy of the TMC: fight the BJP in the state tooth and nail, but do not unnecessarily upset the apple cart of centre-state relations. Mamata may take some time before launching any full-fledged attack on the Modi government again as she still has hopes of the Centre considering her request for a special package for Bengal. She has, however, made an open call to CPI (M) cadres to join the TMC for combating the threat of the BJP. In another political move, to maintain cordial relationship with the dominant party in the Hills, the TMC is likely to leave the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) alone in the local polls in Darjeeling. Mamata recently said she would not seek votes but only people’s cooperation. Her statement is being

Presence of illegal migrants amata Banerjee has finally acknowledged the presence of illegal Bangladeshi migrants in the state. Faced with a rising crime graph, particularly murders of TMC functionaries, Mamata held ‘erring police officers’ and ‘criminal infiltrators, who cross over from Bangladesh, responsible for the deteriorating the law and order situation in the border districts. It makes one recall how Mamata had lashed out at Narendra Modi when he broached the topic of the presence of illegal Bangladeshis in the state during electioneering. The CM then had categorically denied the presence of Bangladeshi nationals in West Bengal.<

Mamata on the Facebook amata Banerjee has taken a leaf out of Modi’s book so far as use of social media for propagating positive government messages is concerned. Many were surprised when they found her post on the Facebook which claimed that West Bengal has become No 1 in the country in terms of rural roads and strengthening rural connectivity. Her government intends to complete the ambitious rural connectivity project of developing more than 16,000 km of village roads in the 3,349 gram panchayats across the state.<

interpreted by observers as meaning that the Trinamool may not participate in the upcoming panchayat polls or any other local polls in the hills. Even if the TMC does take part in the polls, it may strike an alliance with the GJMM. The frequent spats between the state government and the GJMM, and the hill party’s support to the BJP in the recent Lok Sabha elections have ‘mounted pressure’ on the TMC to change its stand. Bimal Gurung also seems to be keen to improve relations with the TMC. He called on Mamata Banerjee in the middle of July, signalling a truce between the two leaders whose relations had seen many

ups and downs ever since an agreement to set up the hill body had been signed three years back. In the Lok Sabha election, Baichung Bhutia of the TMC lost to the BJP’s S S Ahluwalia, whom the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha had supported. Ahluwalia won by nearly 2 lakh votes, a fact some TMC leaders cited to explain why Mamata wanted to change her approach toward this hill party. Gurung quit as the chief executive in July last year and put pressure again on the government for the creation of Gorkhaland in the wake of the UPA government’s decision to form Telangana.<

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

ANDHRA PRADESH

SHARING-PROBLEMS LOOM Both Andhra and Telangana governments face challenges of building new states as they need to fulfill aspirations of the people. There are certain issues which would require Centre’s intervention to resolve like nativity criterion of students.

Chief minister of Andhra Pradesh N Chandra Babu Naidu

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By S Santhanam

he Union budget gave a lion’s share to Andhra Pradesh by announcing an IIT, AIIMS, an agricultural university and a smart city in Krishnapatnam besides other projects, though the absence of any commitment on financial package and the special category status for Andhra Pradesh in the Budget speech was disappointing. The Budget also allotted Rs 500-crore for setting up of an ultra solar mega power plant project in the state along with four other states. Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao criticized the budget saying apart from a horticultural university, no other project has been given to the state. However, more than what they have not got in this union budget, the two states of AP and Telangana have several things to worry about. The two states have locked horns on several issues since the state was bifurcated. Following intense protests on the Osmania University campus, the Telangana government is under tremendous pressure to keep the cabinet decision on regularising the services of contract staff on hold. The Osmania University campus, which had been calm since July last year following the former UPA government’s decision to carve out the Telangana state, has once again turned into a war zone over the contract employees’ issue. They are already at loggerheads over sharing of power and water and now sharing of liabilities is emerging as another controversial issue. The status of individual liabilities has not been touched upon in the AP Reorganisation Act. All government buildings, houses and other properties have become a bone of contention. There are electricity bills worth Rs 450 cr of government departments, including individual

ANDHRA PRADESH

LARGE government properties. Some of the bills are as high as Rs 5 to Rs 10 lakh for individual properties, including official residence of the leader of the opposition etc, which have to be cleared by the roads and buildings department. Distribution of employees is another major problem. Over 50,000 state-cadre employees, who are currently working temporarily for both the states, are awaiting their final allotment. The Centre-appointed Kamalanathan Committee has failed to issue guidelines for distribution due to differences between both the states over retirement age. AP has increased the retirement age from 58 to 60 years while the Telangana government has not. Telangana employees, who are set to retire within two years, are now keen to opt for AP to avail the benefit. If Telangana employees opt for AP and retire there, the retirement benefits will have to be borne by the AP government. At present, about 9,000 employees from Seemandhra are working for the Telangana government and about 4,000 Telangana employees are working for the AP government on a provisional basis since bifurcation of the state on June 2. There are issues related to studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; nativity also. As according to one Telangana cabinet resolution, those who came to Telangana region prior to 1956 will only be considered as local candidates. This has become a burning issue especially among students seeking admission in professional courses in educational institutes located in Telangana. Andhra has objected to this decision of Telangana calling it violation of the constitution and wants Centre to intervene in this.<

Toss of coin decides winner ne has heard or read of a team being declared winners on the basis of the spin of the coin when a football, cricket or hockey match ends in a deadlock or interrupted by rain. It was strange, therefore, to learn about a candidate in a municipality election being declared winner on the basis of toss of coin. YSR Congress had the last laugh in the Nellore Zilla Parishad chairman election as its nominees for ZP chairman and vice chairman posts Bommi Reddy Raghavendra Reddy and P Sirisha were elected through lucky dip as the results ended in a tie since the TDP and YSRC had equal number of votes. Although the YSRC was in a comfortable position with 31 members as against 15 by the TDP, the latter engineered defections and managed to secure the support of eight YSRC members allegedly by offering huge amount of money. To achieve the target, TDP members created ruckus in the election hall to postpone the elections twice during last 15 days. It all ended after a lot of suspense for more than a fortnight.<

New Capital on Singapore model ndhra Pradesh minister for urban development P Narayana has indicated that a government team would visit Singapore to study the capital city infrastructure there. P The new capital of the residual state is likely to come up between Krishna and Guntur districts. The idea is that the new capital should be at a central location where land should be easily available and must be free from water problem. All these conditions are met at the proposed location however there are fears that this decision may be protested by people in southern districts which are backward. They expected quick development, had the capital had been chosen there. Vishakhapatnam and Ongole are two cities which had vied for the new capital, but both lost out as Vishakhapatnam falls in one side of the state and Ongole is afflicted with water scarcity. Another claimant was Vijayawada but it faces land crunch so much so land at some places is even costlier than Hyderabadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s posh areas. Chief minister Chandra Babu Naidu wants the new capital better than Hyderabad with all modern amenities. The cost of new capital has been estimated at Rs 5 lakh crore. The moot question is from where the money would come. Even more ticklish may turn-out the problem of land acquisition as total 25,000 acres of land would be required to build the new capital some of it has to come from private owners. The government would be required to make a suitable policy in this regard so that those who give out their land do not remain a loser. It is expected some portion of the developed land would be given to them in addition to the monetary compensation.<

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

TAMILNADU

JAYALALITHAA RAISES THE By Lokayat Correspondent

t seemed virtually the curtain-call to the 37 years long and tortuous disputes over Mullaperiyar dam between Kerala and Tamilnadu. Following Supreme Court decision permitting the Tamilnadu government to raise the dam height to 142 feet in the teeth of opposition from Kerala, Jayalalithaa lost no time in prevailing on the government of India to set up a three-member highpower committee to oversee its implementation. The panel comprising chairman MV Nathan, chief engineer, Dam Safety Organisation, Central Water Commission, and members MV Kurien, additional chief secretary, Kerala, and M Saikumar, principal secretary, PWD, Tamilnadu, met in mid-July and jointly examined the dam and measures taken for raising the water level. Ruling out strong objections of the Kerala member all 13 shutters of the spillway were lowered, for the first time since 1979, facilitating the water level to rise. It was clearly a splendid victory for Jaya whose tireless advocacy in court and outside on behalf of the Tamil people has borne fruit now. She did not call it a victory, but an over-due justice for her people. The whole episode from the very beginning is a damning indictment of Kerala government’s lackadaisical attitude, inept handling of the case and its surprising lack of charity. Initially the state had a strong case, but squandered it--allowed Tamilnadu to snatch the initiative at every twist and turn. It is an irony that the river rises, flows and falls into the sea entirely in Kerala, its whole catchment area is in the state and the putative dam is also within its borders. Still the state has no control either over

| LOKAYAT AUGUST, 2014

One would have thought that the tedious wrangle between Kerala and Tamilnadu over the Mullaperiyar dam was over with the recent Supreme Court decision in favour of the latter. But no. It has seen only the end of Part I. Kerala is back with more facts to persuade the court to revise its opinion. It may be the start of another long and perturbing episode. Jaya has, however, become the heroine of her people by achieving what she promised—more water for them. But a more pertinent point is, if and when will such wars for this limited natural resource end? Are such quarrels compatible with our national, democratic ethos? It seems that declaring all rivers as our national, common asset alone is the answer. the water or the dam. And even on the dam’s safety which has a direct bearing on the lives and properties of thousands of people below, it has no say! Kerala lost the first round when it

argued irrationally for a new dam to replace the present one on the specious plea that it was old and weak—119 years-- and any increase in water level would raise the threat to people

TAMILNADU

DAM HEIGHT & HER OWN urgency of a new dam. Kerala’s ulterior aim was to wrest control of the reservoir and force Tamilnadu to revise the terms of the agreement. The court, however, invalidated the legislation itself and held that harping on protecting the rights of

one state to the detriment of another was not permissible. It made clear that rights crystallized by a judicial order could not be abrogated by any legislation. downstream. But an expert committee appointed by the Supreme Court which examined the dam rejected Kerala’s threat perception and certified that it was strong enough to permit raising of its height from 136 feet to 162. Ironically K T Thomas, former judge of the Supreme Court who was Kerala’s representative on the Empowered Committee on Mullaperiyar, had also concurred with the Supreme Court’s finding eight years ago—he said it was ‘the strongest dam in India’—but he did not favour raising the level further. He privately told the media that the state’s case was unsustainable. Even otherwise the state’s counsel was incompetent, he lamented. But the government persisted in its campaign for a new dam. In order to buttress its case the state pursued a legislative route to circumvent the 2006 apex court’s judgment allowing Tamilnadu’s plea. The Assembly passed a law stressing the

Kerala government changed its tack The Kerala government then changed its tack and said that the agreement to supply water to the erstwhile Madras Presidency under the British government was signed by the Travancore Maharaja, and with the change of governments following Independence it was no more valid. The apex court rejected this contention observing that antiquity or preConstitution status of sovereign contracts could not be cited as reasons to deny rights flowing from such instruments. The court has been zealous about equitable distribution of water and seldom did it countenance attempts at undermining equity. It is a pity that even when Kerala had a bountiful perennial supply of water and much of it was freeflowing into the sea, it was unwilling to share with Tamilnadu which direly

needed it. In the instant case, however, the court was seized of only the safety aspect of the dam, not appropriation of the water. Not conceding defeat, Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy lamely said that all was not lost yet. The Supreme Court was probably unaware that implementation of its decision would violate three important Central legislations—Forest Conservation Act, Forest Rights Act and Wildlife Protection Act. Consent of the National Board for Wildlife and Chief Wildlife Warden of the state, were required before raising water level in the dam because it would inundate seven sq. km of the adjacent wildlife sanctuary. Similarly prior sanction of the Union Environment and Forest Ministry was also necessary, but these formalities do not seem to have been gone through. So, the state has approached the court with a revision plea bringing these facts to its notice. Jaya knew about these legal imperatives and the Kerala government’s move to file a revision plea. Hence her hurry to confront Kerala with a fait accompli. Now that Jaya has put the Mullaperiyar dam safely under her arm, she has come up with another daring claim for the ownerships of three more Kerala dams—Parambikulam, Peruvaripallam and Thunakadavu. Speaking on the latest shocker, Oommen Chandy said he would not be surprised if Jaya makes her next claim for the entire riverine (eastern) areas of Kerala. It is true that four dams (including the Mullaperiyar) were given to Tamilnadu for operation and maintenance just to enable it to utilize the water which Kerala did not require; their ownership was never alienated; Tamilnadu thinks that by repeating a false claim, it can confuse people and succeed eventually. If so, it is totally mistaken.<

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

KARNATAKA

IT CAPITAL TURNING INTO RAPE CAPITAL

The growing incidence of rape particularly of minor girls and molestation of women in Karnataka in general and the IT capital in particular in recent days, are forcing a worried populace to term Bangalore as the ‘Rape City’ besides putting the Siddaramiah government on the mat.

By Lokayat Correspondent from Bengaluru

ven if exaggerated, the expression and its free use here is indicative of the scare and panic in which the city’s majority of the parents and women are living. Adding to their worries are the brazen attacks on law-enforcers by the law makers themselves with the government showing as much concern as a new born baby over the increasing high handedness as also lawlessness. Cases in point are the repeated instances of lawmakers slapping traffic constables for not clearing a road for their vehicles to pass. Making matters worse was the recent assault on two night duty policemen by a ruling party MLA when they questioned him for violating curfew time for night parties at a high profile pub. Till the time of writing no report had come about government’s inclination to act against the offending lawmakers, either in the case of the

| LOKAYAT AUGUST, 2014

club or the abuse suffered by the traffic policeman. Consequently, police morale has sunk to a new low following these cases what with ministers also chiding senior officers of the constables concerned for allowing them to do their duty. Such being the case, it came as no surprise when the chief minister sought to pull up a newsman, chiding him for daring to know what the government was doing about the increasing lawlessness or to instill confidence among women and parents of school going children. His taunt that ‘don’t you people have anything better to do than to raise questions about rape? Is that the only news?’ was indicative of the beleaguered Congress’ insensitivity to people’s concerns besides highlighting the impotency of the government. If this was not enough, home minister, K J George, went one better, as it were, by charging the opposition with playing politics when the ruling party was confronted in the assembly over its failure to administer. His

refrain that the predecessor BJP administration too had faced similar problems, only underscored the pathetic and casual approach the ruling party’s senior most duo was taking, if only to hide the government’s incompetence. Or, embarrassment! Admittedly, the government did act finally, a knee jerk reaction as it were, following public outrage by transferring city police commissioner, R Auradkar. Never mind the fact that the latter was heading a police force whose morale had sunk to a new low and where inspectors dared to force victims of sexual abuse, to tone down their complaints, confident of political backing. The case in question relates to the kidnapping and rape of a 22-year old girl from outside her apartment in a prestigious area. When she went to file a complaint against the perpetrators of the crime, the inspector in the station concerned forced her against mentioning rape. Following the accompanying furore after the facts came to light, the police official

KARNATAKA decided to go underground.

Why it acquired a communal tinge? That the issue, unfortunately, also began acquiring a communal tinge became apparent when one of the accused in the kidnap and rape case, after being nabbed, organised a protest by burqa clad women to advertise his ‘innocence’. Added to that was the belated arrest of the public school’s chairman for failing to report the minor girl’s rape in his institution to the authorities or her parents . Of equal concern was school’s neglect in doing a background check of

the accused, a skating coach, and a paedophile, going by police investigations. Coincidentally, the school chief belongs to a member of the minority community, leading to charges from a section of the parents that he was being protected for vote bank politics, especially as his arrest came after considerable delay. Irrespective of the inferences that are being drawn, the fact is that the Twiddledum and Twiddledee duo of Siddaramiah and George have shown little ability or the desire to assuage the feelings of the already scared parents and women alike. Following the increase in cases of sexual attacks in

People protest over the alleged rape of a six-year-old girl in a public school at the Freedom Park in Bengaluru (PTI photo)

the IT capital as also the state, any government worth its salt would have moved fast by taking confidence building measures. This is something that has been missing with the chief minister and George failing to show any serious concern, or even signs, to tackle the growing menace. What has added to the declining confidence of the women and parents alike is that more cases of such sexual attacks are being reported every day. In once such horrifying instance, two men thought nothing of breaking into a seminary to rape a 16 year old nun to be. Now, unless the party’s central leadership intervenes immediately, the ruling Congress may lose all the goodwill that it had gained immediately after assuming office in 2013 after besting a tainted BJP. People’s expectations were high. Those, however, are being belied, also considering the fact that the party is no longer united what with different factions within have not bothered to hide their displeasure over Siddaramiah’s style of functioning. This could also explain his inability to be a tough administrator. Besides, the growing dissidence over the chief minister’s failure to accommodate Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief, D Parameshwara in the cabinet as deputy chief minister, is refusing to subside. Faced with such internal strife, a cornered chief minister would do well to show that he is capable of governing and tackling the problems that the administration is facing today. For him to do that, however, Siddaramiah should think in terms of some out of the box steps including taking a round of the city besides meeting the families of the victims of sexual attacks, to start with. Of equal importance would be the need to inspire confidence in the people. And more importantly, among the law enforcers, something that is totally lacking today.<

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

KERALA

KERALA’S DILEMMA WITH THE ‘BOTTLE’

By VSP Kurup from Kochi

ommen Chandy is firmly in the saddle now after a three-year-long bumpy ride. The United Democratic Front (UDF) government led by him had only a

| LOKAYAT AUGUST, 2014

During the brief parliamentary poll campaign the two Kerala Congress factions had suspended hostilities. But soon after the elections the rivals resumed their pet hobby. With the KPCC president VM Sudheeran and chief minister Oommen Chandy lining up on opposite sides, the turf war for supremacy is threatening to cripple governance and sabotage assembly elections 20 months away. The inflexible postures of the two leaders, one on liquor shops licensing and the other on reconstituting the ministry have already brought matters to a crisis pitch. Mercifully Chandy suddenly remembered that people had elected him to look after their welfare. So in the penultimate year of his term the chief minister has announced a slew of grandiose projects and programmes designed to make people’s lives a lot easier ….

razor-thin majority in the assembly to begin with. And the Left Democratic Front (LDF) led by the CPI (M) tried its best to dislodge it. But the Lok Sabha poll proved a lucky break: an irate RSP left the LDF and joined the UDF raising the ruling front’s strength to a comfortable 75 in a house of 140. Chandy felt greatly relieved. The Congress party’s creditable performance

(compared to other states) in the parliamentary elections and its telling victory in two assembly by-elections defeating the LDF boosted the chief minister’s morale sky-high. The unprecedented faction fight in the CPI (M), open flouting of Polit Bureau diktats by its cadres and the existential crisis facing the party—its representation in parliament reduced

KERALA to single digit—added to Chandy’s self-assurance. This sense of chief minister’s over-confidence, however, is causing unnecessary friction in his inflexible dealings with an equally rigid KPCC president VM Sudheeran as well as other UDF partners. The stand-off with Sudheeran on the subject of re-opening some 418 toddy (country liquor) shops has reached a stalemate. These bars were closed some months ago on account of their poor standard of service and maintenance. An inveterate proponent of prohibition, Sudheeran does not want to re-open them. In fact he wants to phase out all liquor shops as declared in the party manifesto and save thousands of suffering families whereas Chandy and his excise minister K Babu are in favour of improving conditions and re-opening the bars. Apart from huge revenue loss to the state, they are worried about the livelihood of thousands of people depending on the liquor business. The government is not against prohibition, but it holds that there should be a pragmatic approach and the policy should be implemented gradually. A larger concern of the government is that enforcement of prohibition will require a huge excise machinery to prevent bootlegging and sale of spurious liquor with attendant disabilities or deaths. The hooch tragedy that claimed a large toll of innocent lives in the state a few years ago is fresh in people’s minds. But Sudheeran does not buy these arguments. He recently called a

KPCC general body meeting and managed to get a consensus favouring prohibition, putting the CM in a quandary.

Bar on bars To complicate matters the Kerala High Court has refused to intervene in the matter but lauded the efforts to reduce the number of liquor outlets and raise the standard of those that are given license. It has, however, directed the state government to take a decision

lobby. The injunction also covers contacts with any anti-social activities like drug and human trafficking or business with blade, stone-quarry, sand mining and real estate mafias. Most Congressmen are sure to observe the ban in its breach because they are all, with few honourable exceptions, involved neck-deep in one or the other nefarious activity. So Sudheeran is kidding himself if he thinks that he can paint an elephant white overnight. This is especially true of keeping Keralites from touching liquor as the state holds top honours in per capita consumption of the heady drink. While the liquor shops imbroglio remains unresolved, another crisis is gathering momentum on account of the chief minister’s refusal to consider the long-pending reorganisation of the

Courtesy: raxacollective

either way within a month to end the uncertainty. The court had been approached by 58 bar owners challenging the government order closing their business on the pretext of sub-standard service. Buoyed by the court’s observation, Sudheeran has gone a step further. He got a set of code of conduct for Congress workers prepared by an empowered committee and approved by the KPCC general body. The code prohibits Congressmen from either imbibing the inebriating fluid or having any dealings with the powerful liquor

ministry. Chandy is postponing the matter because of the exacerbating tussle for dominance between the Igroup headed by himself and the Afaction led by Sudheeran, but some ministerial aspirants waiting in the wings are getting impatient and threatening dire action. (The A- I factional rivalry is now spilling over to organisational matters and delaying party revamp, overdue for many months.) Chandy is now out with a clever ploy to buy time: since there are not many vacancies in the cabinet, he will have to create them by easing out

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

Rahul Gandhi

Gurumukh Singh Hora

Vice President, Indian National Congress

M.L.A. Dhamtari (C.G)

Sonia Gandhi President, Indian National Congress

The nation is grateful to our leaders who gave us freedom from the foreign yoke.

Dr. Charan Das Mahant Former Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries.

Harmit Hora President, Nagrik Sahkari Kendriya Bank Raipur (C.G)

Gopal Thawait Ex. Representative of Parliament Member Dr. Charan Das Mahant

KERALA some ministers. His formula for this is to declare that single-member (MLA) parties will not have any ministerial berth. This has the advantage of forestalling strenuous efforts by a troublesome UDF partner to get its single MLA into the cabinet, and getting rid of a problematic minister representing another small party. His game is that since such drastic action might rock the ministry while the assembly poll is approaching, the party high command is unlikely to favour it. How the impasse will play out is difficult to say.

distributed among various ministers to oversee and implement in a time-bound manner. The mission-mode projects include housing, drinking water and electricity for all, promotion of organic farming, environmental protection, skill development, campaign against liquor consumption, implementation of Right to Services Act (RSA) and introduction of e-governance in all districts. Under RSA a petitionerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right to be heard will become mandatory; with this right

Navratna Projects The chief minister has, meanwhile, launched a series of ambitious welfare and development measures. These, he hopes, will atone for the wasted three years and brighten his performance record during the remaining period of his term in office before going to people for votes. The flagship programme in this endeavour is called Mission-676, the number denoting the remaining days he has to implement them. They include: Kochi Metro, Smart City (again in Kochi), Vizhinjam harbour project near Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur airport, National Waterways, Suburban Railway, Monorail projects and Student and Entrepreneur Start up programmes. These are nicknamed Navratna (nine jewels) projects to show their importance. While the chief secretary is empowered to see that no departmental hurdles delay them, Chandy himself is personally monitoring their progress. Besides the Navratna, 30 other projects have also been prepared and

anybody approaching an official with a complaint will have to be heard and recorded. There is also a move to increase provision of online services from the present 38 to 400 by the end of the current fiscal. To meet shortage of top-level administrators the government proposes to institute shortly a Kerala Administrative Service (KAS). After eight years in KAS, these officers will get IAS designation. By this

process youth will get opportunity to get into middle-level administrative positions which will serve as feeder posts for the higher job. The move is expected to end the present monopolistic hold of the revenue department on IAS posts. The government also intends to amend the Lok Ayukta Act to make it a more effective weapon to fight corruption. With this change the Lok Ayukta will be able to register delinquent cases suo motu. Besides, the government also proposes to appoint a State Vigilance Commission on the lines of the Central measure. Once it is in place top appointments will require its clearance. If the government sanction for prosecution of officials for any misdemeanor recommended by Lok Ayukta is delayed by more than 90 days, it will be deemed as sanctioned. Such drastic measures would have been unthinkable a year ago. Another move actively being considered by the Chandy government is to revamp MGNREGS programme and use it to boost agricultural production. At present it is a wasteful schemeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;wasteful of money and labourâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;producing little tangible asset. As per the state government plan, hereafter the programme will be used to achieve self-reliance in milk, fruit and vegetables production. The government aims to bring an additional 69,400 hectare under horticulture and produce 8.69 lakh tones by 2016. It also hopes to use MGNREGS to revive the sagging coconut production. But to effect such changes in the programme central concurrence is necessary and the state has sought it.<

NORTH EAST

GOGOI,

GOING…GOING… NOT YET ! Gogoi cracks down on dissidents, set to go for cabinet reshuffle while the dissidents seem hell-bent to embarrass the government during the budget session…

Chief minister of Assam Tarun Gogoi

By Lokayat Correspondent

arun Gogoi, 78, who has served as the chief minister of Assam since 2001 and has led the party to a record three consecutive electoral victories in the state, finding it tough to handle acute dissidence among legislators despite full backing from the high command. Gogoi cracked down on dissidents pressing for his ouster by sacking two ministers -- irrigation and soil conservation minister Ardhendu Dey and cooperation and border areas minister Siddique Ahmed -- and

| LOKAYAT AUGUST, 2014

accepting the resignation of top rebel leader Himant Biswa Sarma. Sarma, who was the health, education and Assam Accord minister, resigned citing that ‘it is physically, mentally and politically not possible to work under the chief minister’. Gogoi is expected to go for a cabinet reshuffle before the assembly session that starts from August 4. During his visit to Delhi in the last week of July, Gogoi is believed to have sought permission from Sonia Gandhi for a cabinet reshuffle. A day later, Gogoi temporarily allocated additional portfolios to four of his ministers. Gogoi entrusted his loyalists in the cabinet with additional portfolios, provoking more barbs from the rebel camp. The chief minister allocated the health and family welfare portfolio to Nazrul Islam, minister for food and civil supplies, consumer affairs and minority welfare, and that of education to Pradyut Bordoloi, minister for power, industries and commerce and public enterprises. He entrusted agriculture and parliamentary affairs minister Nilamoni Sen Deka with the additional charge of irrigation and soil conservation, and Ajit Singh, minister of state (independent charge) for excise, sports and youth welfare, with cooperation. With transport minister Chandan Brahma quitting early in July after coalition partner Bodoland Peoples’ Front severed its eight-year ties with the Congress, there are now four vacancies

in the Gogoi cabinet. Gogoi has kept the border areas development and transport portfolios with himself. Sarma, who was once the most influential minister in the Tarun Gogoi cabinet has been leading dissidence in the CLP for the last two years to unseat the chief minister. Sarma and other dissidents in Congress in Assam began gunning again for Gogoi soon after the party's poor show in the recent Lok Sabha elections. With his latest move to nip dissidence in the party, Gogoi has temporarily put an end to the call for his ouster. But his worries have only mounted as ten MLAs are reported to be in touch with the BJP’s central leadership. There are also reports in the local media that dissidents would not hesitate to embarrass Gogoi by raising uncomfortable issues in the budget session to explain to the people why they were against the CM. Dissidents met before the assembly session to give final shape to their strategy. Meanwhile the government has to make additional preparations to deal with the ULFA (I) threat to use guns against Bangladesh migrants, whether Hindu or Muslim. The treat has been extended after the cabinet decided to request the Centre to frame a policy for granting asylum to those who fled Bangladesh due to religious persecution and taken refuge in India on humanitarian grounds. The terrorist organisation has blamed Centre for trying to appease Hindu migrants.<

ODISHA

NAVEEN FINDS MERIT IN MODI FORMULA

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik

After showing spectacular electoral success the pressure on Naveen Patnaik has increased to deliver the same or even more in the 3-tier Panchayat polls. To ensure Achche Din in Odisha he has taken steps to streamline party’s political energy for more efficient administration as well as increased substantially the capital outlay in the state plan for this year.

By Ashok B Sharma

he BJD under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik achieved phenomenal success in the recently held assembly and Lok Sabha elections. His policy of maintaining equidistant from the

Congress and the BJP showered rich dividends. He is being counted in the league of those regional leaders like J Jayalalithaa, Manik Sarkar and Mamata Banerjee who successfully resisted the ‘Modi wave’ at the polls. It may be recalled that BJD won a record 117 seats in the 147-member state assembly and bagged 20 out of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state. But of late the Odisha chief minister seems to be cautious of his heady victory and is alive to the future challenges. He realises the responsibility the voters have thrust upon him. So very

much like Narendra Modi, he wants to tone up the state administration and consolidate his gains. Taking the cue from prime minister Narendrabhai Damodardas Modi’s dikat to ministers not to appoint kith and kin as private secretaries, Naveen has also asked his party MPs and MLAs to refrain from appointing their close relatives as their representatives or promoting them as block or notified area council chairpersons. A note circulated to the party MPs and MLAs in this regard argues that MLAs and MPs get a bad name some times because of their representatives. Therefore, they should be very careful in nominating their representatives. The note advises, ‘Effective and good party workers should be engaged as representatives of MLA and MP.’ Like Modi, he has adopted the practice of meeting party MLAs and MPs in groups. In one of such meetings Naveen advised party MPs to consult party MLAs in their segments before taking up developmental activities by utilising the development funds. The chief minister has also directed his party MLAs to be easily accessible to people and tour villages regularly and meet party workers and people. ‘Problems of various groups or villages, women SHGs and youth groups should be identified and solved as top priority,’ he said. He has also stressed on responsible public behaviour of the lawmakers both in public places and inside the House. Very much like the Modi’s directive to ministers, Naveen has also asked his party MPs and MLAs to chalk out a plan for three years and to submit it to their respective district observers by August-end, as part of the preparations for the three tier panchayat polls due in 2017. Naveen government is keen to spur development in the state to ensure Achche Din for Odiya people. The latest indication in this regard came from substantially higher capital investment under state plan which has been increased by 87.4 percent in the financial year 2014-15.<

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

CAMPUS

BIHAR IN PROCESS OF OVERHAULING SCHOOL EDUCATION

The Bihar government which had been receiving accolades from many quarters for performing exceptionally well in the primary and elementary education sector, suddenly finds itself on the receiving end on appointing teachers who could not clear the 5th grade examination. In a shocking expose around 20,000 out of 1.42 lakh teachers under the ambitious schemesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Shikshak Niyojan 2006 and Shikshak Niyojan 2008â&#x20AC;&#x201D;were found to have got appointments on the basis of fake degrees. The faulty appointment process is not the lone issue, but also how education mafias peddling fake degrees for money flourish in the country. Are there not politicians behind them? Who are they? AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

CAMPUS

ihar had been facing flak for having one of the worst literacy rates in the country. Dropout rate was exceptionally high. It was infamous for teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; absenteeism. The infrastructure was abysmally poor. When the time came to change all this, the mantle fell on former chief minister Nitish Kumar who mooted several important initiatives and showed great resolve to improve matters. And indeed in some of the parameters, it crossed even the national average level. But all these

thousands of candidates could get fake degrees and become teachers which exposed the nexus between politicians and educational institutes. How could this happen? What are the chinks in the over-all governance and political system in the state? The instances of persons getting teaching jobs on the basis of fake degrees are not unheard of in other states also. Reports have been appearing regularly about flourishing business in fake degrees and how examinations could be manipulated with money. The expose of the biggestever education scam in Madhya Pradesh revealed how politicians and

The Nitish Kumar government had hogged immense media accolades for mooting several initiatives to improve primary education in Bihar. Thanks to all that, Bihar scored higher enrolment point than the average of 20 large states. But despite strenuous efforts, the enrolment rate at the upper primary level still remained right at the bottom of these 20 major states with only less than half of eligible children attending schools. The teacher-student ratio in Bihar, despite massive recruitment, is still poor. According to available information on the government portal, the state has 63 students in primary

kudos became misplaced once it came to light that the teachers in charge of the children themselves were frauds and duffers. It was discovered that many of them were not able even to pass the class V examination. How come they became teachers and put on the regular pay roll? It was no less shocking to know that in Bihar

bureaucrats joined hands to spoil the sanctity of examinations. Unfortunately the entire education system right from the primary to professional levels is pitted, symptomatic of the extreme moral degradation of teachers, institute owners and last but not the least, politicians.

schools and 49 students in elementary schools per teacher, while the national median is 26. Teacher absenteeism is also very high. A recent survey revealed that 37.8 percent of teachers were found absent during unannounced inspections, which is the worst record in the country. The quality of teaching can be imagined from the fact that one-

By Aaditya Tewari

| LOKAYAT AUGUST, 2014

CAMPUS third of students in Class VI could not read a paragraph taken from a Class II textbook. A National University of Educational Planning & Administration (NUEPA) survey found to its shock that only 21 percent of all primary school teachers in Bihar had completed matriculation. The Nitish government tried to change the situation, and too fast, since education was the pivot of all economic, social and cultural development. It not only put in place a series of reforms in the primary education sector which included mandatory digitization of all state-run schools, but initiated a massive drive to appoint teachers. It reportedly appointed 1.46 lakh teachers in just five years. Some 9,000 recruitment centres were opened which received millions of applications. Local politicians and officials saw in it an opportunity to mint money. Their methodology was simple--obtain a paper called ‘degree’ from any shady nook and get appointment. No attempt was made to ascertain the veracity of the degree till the so-called teachers’ shocking competence and knowledge came to light. It was found that there was no machinery in place to check the genuineness of the ‘degrees’ presented. Now the government has made it necessary for colleges to keep all degree-holders’ data along with enrolment numbers etc. on college websites so that the degrees’ verification can be done easily. Shocked by the spotlight on teachers’ recruitment on the basis of fake degrees, the Manjhi government has taken a few quick decisions to give momentum to the verification process of degrees which earlier went on at a snail’s pace. It is significant to note here that even under the slow pace of enquiry around 1,100 primary and secondary teachers have been sacked till date. The government has not only dismissed them from service but FIRs have been filed against them. This should uncover the rackets behind the fake degrees. Already some institutions

have been blacklisted. They are located in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Punjab. When it was discovered that teacher’s quality under Shikshak Niyojan was not up to the mark, much uproar was made by opposition parties, students’ organizations and educational experts. The state government was forced to conduct a teacher’s

There is grievous lack of educational infrastructure across the state—be it at primary, secondary or college level. There is also huge mismatch between demand and supply. The result is, private schools are proliferating everywhere, even in the hinterland, and the perpetrators’ sole intention is to make money rather than to impart education. If the JD-U government wants to take the state to a new level of development, it needs to address issues plaguing the education system in the state. competence test for the employed teachers. This test would be conducted twice a year. The results of a recent test were shocking. Many teachers could not pass a paper set for Class V students in which the questions related to simple maths, science, English and Hindi. It

was a multiple choice questionnaire and for passing the 100-mark paper one should get only 30. Yet 8,884 teachers (over 8 percent) failed. Aghast at the results the government relaxed rules and permitted the teachers to reappear in the test but stipulating that if they failed again, they would lose their jobs. The process is on. The way many teachers used bogus degrees to get the job reflects on the faulty process of recruitment. The criterion for recruitment under both the schemes was percentage of marks obtained in Class XII, graduation and post-graduation examinations. The Panchayat Mukhiyas were given a decisive say in the process of selection, which encouraged nepotism and corruption. Mukhiyas and government officials at block, subdivisional and district levels are alleged to have colluded to make big money. The incident speaks volumes not only about the prevailing culture of corruption, but also the level of unemployment. It is disturbing to see that all these malpractices were resorted to for getting the job of a primary school teacher whose pay is Rs 4, 000 a month. This has been increased recently to Rs 4,200. All together 2.5 lakh contractual school teachers were appointed to improve the student-teacher ratio in the state. To be fair to the efforts made, the government had faced numerous difficulties in finding teachers of the right capability. The Centre mandates that primary teachers should necessarily possess BEd degree. But the state government had to lower this criterion on the ground that there were not enough BEd degree-holding candidates. So the criterion of a simple degree was adopted. Facing flak on the poor quality of teachers, the selection process was changed in 2012 and a Teacher Eligibility Test was introduced to draw up a shortlist for final selection, but much damage has already been done to the education system.<

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

Heartiest Congratulations to

LOKAYAT On the

68th INDEPENDENCE DAY

C.M.D. Post Graduate College, Bilaspur Pandit Sanjay Dubey, Chairman

Courses conducted by the college B. Sc. : Physics, Chemistry, Maths, Computer Science, Electronics, Botany, Zoology, Microbiology B.A. : Economics, Geography, Political Science, History, Music, Hindi Literature, Sanskrit, English, Literature, Home Science, Sociology B.Com. : All compulsory papers with T.P.P. (Tax Procedure & Practice), all compulsory papers with taxation or management as optional subjects. M.Sc. : Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Botany, Zoology, Microbiology, Computer Science, M.A.: Economics, History, Geography, Political Science, History, Hindi Literature, Sanskrit Literature, English Literature, Public Administration Ph.D. : Commerce, Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology, Mathematics, Hindi, English, Sanskrit, Economics. History, Political Science, Geography. Other coursesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;B.B.A., B.Ed., P.G.D.C.A., P.C.D.B.M., P.G.D.I.B., M.Ed.

Facilities provided: State of the art laboratories Gymnasium and sports complex Auditorium and new buildings Separate buildings for Computer, Micro-biology, geography and B.Ed.

Founded in 1956 through the munificence of Late Pt. Dwarika Prasad Dubey, the C.M.Dubey Post Graduate College sparkles in the field of education in Chhattisgarh state. With the object to spread benefits of modern and quality education to needy people, the College started imparting education up-to the post graduate level in 1963. The college believes that greatness of an institution lies in the ideals and objectives that it stands for and places before students. In the words of its founder, the progress should be assessed by the quality of education. Good education must lead to harmonious development of all facets of the personality. Hence, the college constantly endeavours to create conducive atmosphere for the growth of body, mind and spirit of students.

CMD Post Graduate College (Affiliated to Bilaspur University, Bilaspur) Link Road Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 495 004 Ph No: 07752-225177; Fax: 07752 - 237291 Email: info@cmdpgcollege.com Website: www.cmdpgcollege.in

HEALTH IS WEALTH

THE WAIL OF THE AILING

HEART It is not prudent to ignore the wail of the hailing heart and must be attended to before it is too late. First of all, one should be able to judge relevant symptoms so that timely medical advice can be sought. Interestingly new and newer technologies are being developed to address the problem....

By Dr P K Mukherjee

he coronary arteries, which supply blood to the muscle of the heart, are among the most important blood vessels of the body. They supply

oxygen and nutrients to the heart and carry carbon dioxide and other metabolic wastes from the wall of the heart. However, consuming a diet full of extremely oily and fatty products, tobacco chewing or smoking and due to the faulty dietary habits the level of LDL cholesterol (also known as bad cholesterol) in the blood starts increasing. This cholesterol starts getting deposited in the inner walls of the coronary arteries in the form of a waxy substance called plaque. Over

time, plaque can harden or rupture. Hardened plaque narrows the coronary arteries. If the plaque ruptures, a blood clot can form on its surface. A large blood clot can mostly or completely block the blood flow through a coronary artery. Over time, the ruptured plaque also hardens and narrows the coronary arteries. This is known as atherosclerosis. This leads to pain in the chest known as angina. This anginal pain usually starts in the centre of the chest and spreads down the left arm. Engina is also felt as pressure, heaviness, numbness, painful feeling and squeezing on the heart. It is sometimes mistaken for heartburn. Other symptoms can include dizziness, weakness, fear or anxiety, faster heartbeat, profuse sweating and vomiting. The pain lasts only for a few moments. But it is a warning bell that something is wrong with the arteries. It wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be prudent to ignore the wail of the hailing heart and must be attended to before it is too late. In cases of anginal pain, the doctors recommend angiography. It is a medical diagnostic procedure in which a special (generally iodine based) dye, called contrast dye, is injected into the coronary arteries. The X-ray pictures are taken during which the dye is flowing through the arteries. These X-ray pictures (called angiograms) help doctors see blockages in the arteries. In the angiogram, if the patient is found to suffer from narrowing or blockage of arteries angioplasty is done. A catheter with a tiny balloon attached to it is introduced into the narrowing or the blocked part of the arteries through a guide wire. The balloon is then inflated. This helps clear up the blockage of the arteries. The balloon is then deflated and is finally removed. This medical procedure is known as angioplasty. However, now stents are being used for more than a decade to treat coronary artery blockages. It is estimated that more than 2 million people worldwide get a stent each year.

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

HEALTH IS WEALTH It is now common practice to insert a stent to hold a coronary artery open and to maintain blood flow after an angioplasty. A stent is a tiny, expandable tube having mesh-like structure made of medical-grade stainless steel or cobalt alloy metal. Stents can aid in the reduction of recurrent blockage or narrowing of arteries after an angioplasty.

Therefore, such patients with stents are forced to take blood thinners to prevent clots. This puts them at risk of internal bleeding. However, another technology has been evolved in which the metal stent does not remain in the artery forever as with time it gets dissolved automatically, This self-dissolving stent, also called bioresorbable vascular scaffold is made of

may resort to a new innovative way which doctors are currently exploring on. One such innovative way is angiogenesis. This involves giving substances, like stem cells through the vein or directly into the damaged heart tissue. It is an outpatient procedure that uses treatment cuffs placed on the legs that inflate and deflate, increasing the blood supply that feeds the coronary arteries.

biocompatible material such as that used in medical implants like dissolvable sutures (stitches made in sewing up the wounds, especially after an operation).The self-dissolving stents over time get dissolved basically into carbon dioxide and water. Besides angioplasty and stenting, patients of coronary artery disease are sometimes required to undergo invasive bypass surgery, medically known as coronary artery bypass graft. However, for patients who have bad angina and do not get relief from any of the available remedies (angioplasty, stenting, bypass surgery or medication)

Another innovative procedure that uses laser is called transmyocardial laser revascularization. In this medical procedure, narrow channels of extremely small diameter (1 mm) are made across the ailing heart muscle with the help of a special kind of laser called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;carbon dioxide heart laser-2.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; In every square centimetre extent of the heart muscle one such channel is made. In this way a total of 20 to 40 channels are made across the heart muscle. This increases the blood supply to the heart muscle, giving relief to the patient.<

What is stenting? Stenting is a minimally invasive procedure during which a stent and balloon are used to push back cholesterol (plaque) deposits in a coronary artery to treat coronary heart disease. Like in an angioplasty procedure, the stent is moved with a tiny balloon that is opened in the coronary artery to push back plaque and to restore blood flow. After the plaque is compressed against the arterial wall the stent is fully expanded into position thus providing structural support to the artery. The balloon is then deflated and removed and the stent is left behind in the patientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s coronary artery to help keep the blood vessel open. Some newer generation stents also have a medicated coating to help prevent the vessel from re-narrowing. These are known as drug-eluting stents. Such stents are found to be much more effective in keeping the artery open over an extended length of time. Sometimes, depending on the type of blockage doctors recommend more than one type of stent to be inserted in the artery of the patient. Stent procedures have an obvious advantage over angioplasty alone. In addition to providing structural support to the artery they help prevent the artery from re-narrowing which in medical terms is known as restenosis. However, the bad news is despite undergoing stenting restenosis may still occur in some patients. Also, some patients with metal stents develop blood clots (called stent thrombosis) that might cause heart attack.

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

FILMWORLD

WILL BRING THE BEST FROM ACROSS THE BORDER

SHAILJA KEJRIWAL

By Jyothi Venkatesh

SHAILJA KEJRIWAL, CHIEF CREATIVE–SPECIAL PROJECTS, ZEEL TELLS US ABOUT HER PLANS TO PREMIERE PAKISTANI FILMS AND ALSO REVIVE TELEFILMS WITH THE NEW CHANNEL ZINDAGI…

Why has Zee decided to start the channel Zindagi? he Zee group is known to go away from the league and doing things daringly different from what the other channels have been doing all these years and not for nothing is Zee hailed as the pioneering channel in India. Subhashji has told us that we should do eight times better in the next twenty years instead of just sitting back on our past laurels and be smug. He has exhorted us to raise the bar of the group. After launching last year ‘& Pictures’ and ‘Zee Anmol',

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now Zee has launched the new channel ‘Zindagi’.

You were part of NDTV Imagine. What made you join Zindagi? have been working on an idea like this to get the best from across the border for the last year and a half. I have always been a part and parcel of the TV industry in various capacities with various channels for the last fifteen years and had always wanted to embark on some project which would be challenging not only for me

as an individual but also the channel. Though the channel had approached me with some other idea, when I suggested the idea to Bharat Rangaji to start a channel which will bring on board select shows from across the border, he was game and I was asked to join Zee.

Go on! o tell you the truth, the idea for this kind of programming came to me as a brainwave when I had reached a stage where I was bored

FILMWORLD

THE STORY WILL

with the content that I was creating over and over again and again. I had decided that I’d be back after a gap after I left NDTV Imagine with something different that I could possibly imagine. No pun intended please!

SUFFER HEAVILY IF A SHOW RUNS ON AND ON FOR NINE TO TEN YEARS. IN ZINDAGI, NO SHOW WILL BE ON AIR

Why do you think Zee is suitable to start a channel like Zindagi? feel that Zee is the only group which is suitable to start a channel like this to beam shows from the neighboring countries like Pakistan, Sri Lanka etc because it is the only India based mega International company which has its august presence in various countries all over the globe like USA, Russia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. The new channel reinforces the vision of ZEE’s corporate philosophy ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam–the world is my family’ and aims to unite people in India and across the world with shows produced overseas.

FOR MORE THAN

What is the aim of the channel Zindagi? he channel aims to showcase real, friendly, vibrant and premium stories of those from across the world that share similar cultural backgrounds, morals and values that are also intrinsic to India. The channel proposition ‘Jodey Dilon Ko’ is based on the fact that even if people across the globe are culturally different, the stories of their lives are universal

What is the idea behind shows which will be aired on the channel? have always subscribed to the belief that mass entertainment should not be boring but entertaining with a basic purpose. I went to Pakistan and brought some shows from there to beam in Zindagi channel. You see stories do not need visas but human beings do. I realized happily that all our Indian stars are very popular all over the world including Pakistan.

TWENTY SIX EPISODES AND THERE WILL BE A BEGINNING, MIDDLE AND AN END TO ALL THE STORIES FROM THE TV POINT OF VIEW. What will the USP of the new channel be? SP of all the shows in Zindagi will be that they will not be the regressing ‘saas bahu’ shows which have been dealt with the death knell but shows which will have a lot of diversity. You will get to see relatable stories. What will set our channel apart from the other channels which are there today is the fact that the focus will be on the storyline because the writer has to complete the story from A to Z and there is no need to alter it depending upon the kind of TRPs that the shows will garner.

Can you explain? he story will suffer heavily if a show runs on and on for nine to ten years. In Zindagi, no show will be on air for more than twenty six episodes and there will be a beginning, middle and an end to all the stories from the TV point of view. The focus on all our shows will be the family values which our elders used to teach the youngsters. You will get to see them in the shows from Pakistan. We at Zindagi believe that the stories showcased on our channel will appeal to the audiences even in Southern India.

Tell me the names of some of the popular shows which will air on Zindagi? era Naseeb, Zindagi Gulzar Hai, Aunn Zara, Kaash Main Teri Beti Na Hoti and Kitni Girhain Baaki Hain etc are some of our popular shows from Pakistan that will be aired on Zindagi from Monday to Sunday.

What is the revenue model based on? hough initially we will bring shows from Pakistan, eventually we will also start showing shows from other countries like Bangladesh, Malaysia and Srilanka, with which we share the same culture and traditions. We are also planning to have world premiere of the choicest Pakistani films. The revenue that our channel will generate will come only from India because the channel will air exclusively in India. Our idea is to lead fragmentation rather than becoming the victims, since we are of the opinion that with digitization, the number of channels will also increase three folds in the next ten years.<

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

BJP SHIFTS STAND ON FDI During the last five years the BJP had opposed raising FDI limit to 49 percent in the insurance sector. But now it has taken a U-turn on this issue. However, the Congress has reportedly agreed to support the move provided the Bill is identical to the one presented by P Chidambaram in 2008.

By Janmesh Jain

he long-pending Bill on raising the FDI limit in the insurance sector from 26 percent to 49 percent is now expected to be passed. When moved by P Chidambaram in November 2008, it was opposed vehemently not only by the Left, but also by the BJP. Till late the BJPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stand was that 49 percent limit could be granted only if the voting right was limited to 26 percent. It has to be seen if the BJP will continue to hold this view even now. It

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will also have to be watched in what shape the Bill comes. Meanwhile, slamming the BJP for its double standard on this issue, Congress spokesperson PC Chako said his party would support the Bill if it was the same as the one the UPA had presented. Narendra Modi government is excessively keen to invite FDI in as many sectors as possible, including defence. Raising FDI limit in the defence sector has invited general opposition including from the RSS. But in the insurance sector the opposition is mainly from the Left. But

many recall the fact that when the BJP was in the opposition the Standing Committee on Finance chaired by former BJP finance minister Yashwant Sinha had advised the government that raising FDI limit to 49 percent would not be in the interest of the insurance industry and common man would not gain anything by it. Sinha had recommended that insurance companies should raise money from the market to meet their capital requirements. But now with Modi at the helms of affairs, the previous BJP policy is sought to be changed. Certainly it

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

IN INSURANCE would usher in achche din for independence. It was quite competitive insurance companies which had been but on account of increasing cases of suffering from shortage of capital to fraud and unfair trade practices, the beef up their business. Despite India industry was nationalised by an being the 9th largest market in the ordinance on 19th January, 1956. Some world in life insurance business and 170 private insurance companies, 19th in non-life insurance, the sectors including 16 foreign and 75 provident are still under-penetrated and hence fund societies were merged to form have immense scope for further Life Insurance Corporation of India. growth. India has 36 crore life General (non-life) insurance business insurance policies; by 2020 the was nationalised in 1973 to create insurable population in the country is General Insurance Corporation of India expected to be 75 crore. There are by merging 107 private insurance reasons for the insurance companies. business to grow well due to the continuing high saving rate of Indians. A brief history of The market statistics show insurance in India that the insurance business has been growing at the he concept of insurance as pooling of annual rate of 15-20 percent resources that could be re‑distributed in in India. It got sluggish times of calamities such as fire, floods, during the last two years epidemics and famine, was known in India mainly due to reduction in even in the days of Manu, Yagnavalkya and the savings of Indian Kautilya. But life insurance in its modern households and poor returns form came from England in 1818. It remained from the unit-linked in the private sector till 1956. The insurance insurance policies on business was restored to private companies account of decline in the in 2000, while allowing Foreign Direct Invest‑ stock market. Market ment in them up to 26 percent. Now FDI limit experts say that insurance is going to be increased to 49 percent.< premium collection in India is only 5.2 percent of the GDP whereas in advanced Asian countries like Korea, Return to the old system came with Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong it is 10 the NDA government under Atal percent. India has all the potential of Behari Vajpayee in the 1990’s. It attaining parity with these countries. unshackled the sector from the The market experts believe, however, government monopoly. After instituting that the insurance industry is currently Insurance Regulatory and in crisis and only higher FDI limit can Development Authority (IRDA), the restore its health. NDA government opened the sector in Insurance Business August 2000. The result is we have Nationalised now 26 general insurance companies The insurance business in India and 24 life insurance companies in the was in the private sector initially and country. But despite aggressive continued to be so for many years after marketing and innovation in designing

new products by private companies, the faith of Indian public remains more in public sector companies, especially in life insurance matters. The fact is, people see life insurance policy as an instrument of social security, and the public sector policies carry a sovereign guarantee. The result is Life Insurance Corporation has 72.7 percent share in the country’s life insurance market. It is true that after opening up the sector, the industry has shown a rapid growth and competition has intensified. In the first ten years of opening up, the premium growth on annualised basis has been 31 percent, but in the next two years it plummeted to 2 percent. Consumer complaints also increased due to nonrealisation of expected returns on their unit-linked policies. There were complaints of mis-selling of insurance products reducing people’s trust in them. To regain confidence several customer-centric regulatory changes have been introduced during the last few years. Some new guidelines coming into force shortly will follow two overarching themes of providing guarantee and enhancing transparency. The changes include higher death benefit, guaranteed surrender value and mandatory benefit illustration for all life insurance products. Before these new regulations, the insurance regulator from 2010 had curbed the scope of the Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs). To curb the malpractice of giving high commissions on the first premium, the IRDA reduced the commissions but was not able to control the brokers, including banks who continued to force policies on consumers. Not just more FDI, but better regulation and good practices among insurance companies can ensure proper growth in future.<

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

SPORT

RANDOM THOUGHTS ON RIO

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By Ramu Sharma

uring the tense and tactical final match Neuer had charged at Argentina’s Gonzalo Higuain, just near the penalty area, the burly keeper’s hip knocking down the forward, that was almost like the charge Schumacher had made on Battiston, the French forward, who lost two teeth and had to be stretchered out. The referee didn’t see either of the infringements

SPORT

Dream is over but memories linger and will continue to cloud the mind for days all together. Two days after the event, the greatest show in Brazil had already been erased from public memory. On the night of the final the whole of Delhi and many other Indian cities were awake, so much so schools gave a holiday for the next day, Monday. The dying images of the World Cup final were still hazy, and one could recall the way the huge German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer climbed up the many steps to get the Golden Glove award and be hugged by the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and even shaking hands with, among others, FIFA’s Michel Platini. The irony could not have been lost on the latter, tipped to take over from Michael Blatter as FIFA president. and waved play to continue. That was the France-Germany semifinal in 1982, shown live for the first time on TV sets across India, thanks to the Asiad, and the first time one saw the standards of world football. It was on cathode ray TV sets, possibly black and white, that one watched it, like the TV set that Pope Francis watched the present WC final in his modest dwelling in Vatican. One saw the two overworked matrons, presidents of Brazil and Germany, greeting the teams and clapping enthusiastically as if their own children were on the ground. One saw the German team, with Bastian Schweinsteiger leading the way, and not the captain, Philip Lahm who came last with his arm band. ‘Schweini’ had earned that position for he had been so harshly tackled at least six times and during the extra time even had to have a dozen stitches on the cheekbone to resume play. One admired this true grit as also the way the Germans played as a team. There were no prima donnas, everyone chipped in, pressed hard, interchanged and it was a difficult to pick up any standout performance. The pattern of play was also unconventional and Franz Beckenbauer wondered what had happened to the sweeper concept.

There was no centre forward either, the missing No 9, and back three were all jettisoned. Instead one found the new role that Neuer played, that of the sweeper keeper. What then was the secret of the German success? In the semi-final against Brazil they scored four goals in the span of eight minutes and any

was not power soccer, it was not sheer speed, all traits associated with traditional German style. But to that had also been incorporated the deft touches and dribbling and feinting and quick interchange of positions, all once forte of the Latin American teams. On the other hand Brazil, under Louis Felipe Scolari, had

It is not that there was no enthusiasm for the game here in India. Even among the school children and matrons who kept awake after midnight to watch the matches. In the parks, in the corporate board rooms, in the lobbies of legislatures there were invariably animated discussions on the previous day’s matches. The newspapers and magazines were full of pictures and write-ups and speculation and even the list of odds and TV channels had prime time discussions on the matches and analyses by experts flown in from England, former players and coaches. team that could dish out a display like that deserved the trophy. The Germans had been playing as a team for seven years; they were trained in decision-making under pressure. ‘Taking quick, logical decisions under pressure was part of their thinking’, their trainer said. And if you have been playing like that for years and at some point it is bound to click. It was not a display that was just clinical, it

adopted the continental style of power soccer. Over all what are the images of the final? From the first match when the Dutch blasted holders Spain by 5 goals to 1 to the semifinal when the Germans inflicted a 7-1 drubbing on hosts Brazil, the matches crackled and chugged along. There were the recurrent images of Robert van Perse’s header of a goal in the first match to the Goetze goal in

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

SPORT the injury time of extra time in the final that clinched the trophy, that were played ad infinitum. In the semi-final and for the third place alone Brazil conceded ten goals! Did any exciting patterns of play come up, any exciting players? Was there anything like the Magical Magyars, that Hungarian team of the 1956, to the free-wheeling Real Madrid team built around De Stefano (who died during the course of the tournament) of the same decade, or the total football that Johan Cryuff came to be associated with in the seventies? According to the coach of that team, Rinus Michels, the total football concept grew up on the very steps of Ajax stadium in Amsterdam where he had seen Cryuff play as a seventeen-year-old and where his mother was a cleaner. The concept has much more to the element of surprise than any magic formula. Michael’s secret; find the talent, and let it play. The system, if there is any, will follow. The enduring lesson that seems to emerge from this world cup is that despite all the technology and despite the marketing hype football is still a game with simple rules and made for simple folk to play and that it is a game without borders. France was not Le Blues it was predominantly Le black, and Germany had two Poles, two Turks a Ghanaian and a Spaniard.

Where does all of this leave us, in India? It is not that there was no enthusiasm for the game here even among the school children and matrons who kept awake after midnight to watch the matches. In the parks, in the corporate board rooms, in the lobbies of legislatures there were invariably animated discussions on the previous day’s matches. The newspapers and magazines were full of pictures and write-ups and speculation and even the list of odds and TV channels had prime time discussions on the matches and analyses by experts flown in from England, former players and coaches. This kind of interest does not seem

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to have happened before. In remote places like Shillong in Meghalaya and Malappuram in Kerala youngsters had set up halls with projectors and watched the matches all night often wearing the jersey of their favorite teams or players. The craze was so pronounced that in some places village elders had to issue edicts and fatwas to desist youngsters from these nocturnal activities. It was in the midst of this that the Durand Cup (the third oldest tournament in the world after the F A Cup in England and the IFA Shield in Calcutta) schedule was announced tentatively; that it would be held in two phases, at Goa sometime in September. The details were being worked out. During its

The enduring lesson that seems to emerge from this world cup is that despite all the technology and despite the marketing hype football is still a game with simple rules and made for simple folk to play and that it is a game without borders. France was not Le Blues it was predominantly Le black, and Germany had two Poles, two Turks a Ghanaian and a Spaniard. illustrious history the Durand Cup had been held without interruption, despite the two world wars and partition and Chinese incursion and Bangladesh war and the 1984 riots, except for one year and that was for operational reasons. Even the cup’s arrival in India has an interesting side story. During partition, when the division of assets was being negotiated, with Mohammad Ali of Pakistan and HM Patel of India listing the claims item-wise, somehow the Pakistani official overlooked the Durand trophy that was kept in a corner

and Patel quietly had it placed in the dickey of the official car that was going to Delhi. Since then the tournament had been held in Shimla and Delhi. In the Capital it was like an annual event, soon after Ramlila and Dussehra and the onset of winter. The final itself was the culmination of a month of hectic activities and much cheering, and this was something to cherish for the people of Old City and New Delhi alike. The president invariably was present for the final to present the trophies and some of them, Zaki Hussain especially, was as excited as Merkel. Rajendra Prasad and VV Giri were also enthusiastic watchers of the match and had tea with the captains during the half-time. Each year there were surprises, new teams, new crop of players and some exciting names that would figure in the years to come. There were purely amateur clubs like Aryans and Kidderpore and City College Old Boys from Hyderabad that used to bring some exciting youngsters. It must have been the earlier British coach Houghton who suggested that such tournaments be scrapped and we concentrate on the national team and that must be the reason for the stress on the I League and the Premier league to the detriment of the old tournaments like Rovers and IFA Shield and Durand and even the Santosh trophy. He might have a point because if you have to raise the rankings you have to be a national team and matches must be played against foreign teams. But where do you get the new talent except in these tourneys and the many that were held throughout the country. Perhaps Houghton was not acquainted with the vast country and had not been witness to the enthusiasm that is prevalent everywhere. This was also the reason why he didn’t find any football ground in the country up to the mark and had the Indian team practice in Dubai, Portugal and Barcelona’s practice ground. He had a late revelation though when he saw the crowd response to an international match India played at Ambedkar stadium.<

SPORT

FROM WUNDERKIND TO WORLD CUP HERO The whole world was expecting Lionel Messi to steal thunder from the Germans in the World Cup final and earn the Argentine his rightful place alongside Pele and Maradona as the greatest individuals to ever play the beautiful game. But it was not to be. By Ashish Bansal /Dhoomketu

n the end, it was a flash of individual brilliance that decided the tournament, albeit not from the player the whole world expected. German coach Joachim Löw substituted 36-year-old Miroslav Klose after 88 minutes with 22-year-old Mario Götze and told him ‘Show the world you are better than Messi’. Götze scored the only goal of the match in the 113th minute from an acute angle, giving Germany their fourth World Cup victory. He became the first substitute to score a World Cup winning goal, as well as the youngest player to score in a World Cup Final since fellow German Wolfgang Weber in 1966. Despite becoming the ‘man of the match’ in the game against Ghana, German coach Joachim Löw brought on Julian Draxler in Germany's semifinal 7–1 hammering of reigning champions Brazil, keeping Götze benched throughout. Götze wanted to prove a point when he got a chance in the final. And when he replaced veteran Klose, the youngster scored the all-important goal to clinch the trophy for Germany. It was an apt exchange of the baton: from a 36-year-old to a 22-year-old. Perhaps, only he among Germany’s squad could so coolly deliver in such a high-stakes situation. Götze plays as an attacking midfielder for Bayern Munich in the

German league (Bundesliga). He is considered to be an up-and-coming player possessing high speed, excellent technical and dribbling skills, and play-making capabilities. In 2010, German Football Association's then technical director Matthias Sammer described Götze as ‘one of the best talents Germany ever had.’ In November 2010 he made his debut in national team against Sweden. In that match he became the country’s youngest international player and also by scoring a goal in that match he became Germany’s youngest ever goal scorer at that time. Götze has always been one to rise to the big occasion. Even as an 18-year-old in his first game against Bayern Munich, he assisted two goals in Dortmund's 3-1 win. In his second match against the Bavarians he scored the only goal of the match; in the third, his goal salvaged a draw. Nothing in his career prior, of course, compared to his finish against Argentina in the World Cup final. A goal like Gotze's is a careerdefining moment. Many great players go an entire career without scoring in a World Cup final, even when given the

Mario Götze

opportunity. Scoring the winner in the World Cup final could mark a turning point in Gotze's career. Götze was a member of the team which reached the 2013 UEFA Champions League Final. In April 2013, a €37 million bid from Bayern Munich made Götze the second-most expensive German player to date. Such statistics are important in illustrating his neat touches and gliding runs were never simply for their own sake – this is a player who always wanted to find the net.<

AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

‘Dedicated to the conservation of trees and other natural resources, we make paper from the use of rice stem’

We and our heroic workers made plain papers

The countrymen filled them with words and colours

Madhya Bharat Papers Ltd

Head Office: 113, Park Street, 4th Floor North Block, Kolkata (West Bengal) Regd Office & Mill: Village—Birgahni, Post—Champa, Distt—Janjgir-Champa (Chhattisgarh)

NEW TECHNOLOGY

SMART WATCHES!

After smart phones, the upcoming craze is smart watches. These are essentially wearable computers with touch screen. Using blue tooth technology they can even communicate with distant devices. Today they have limited capability, but in the future they would be a combination of phones, media player, GPS, thermometer, map displayer, heart monitor and a lot more, indeed a super gadget on your wrist. AUGUST, 2014 LOKAYAT |

NEW TECHNOLOGY By Manish Dixit

mart watches were launched in India in June 2014. These were Samsung’s Gear Live and LG’s G watch. Smart watches are essentially wearable computers, a next craze after smart phones. But are these watches as of today as revolutionary as the users expect? These two smart watches are at best used to check basic inputs like incoming mail, sending out search command even by voice. These smart watches can also send text messages. Smart watches are an offshoot of sports related wearable devices like the heart monitor and global positioning system (GPS). Mountain terrain bikers mainly used these heart and GPS devices, as they need to know their location in the forest trails where there are no road signs! A golfer who regularly plays in different golf courses across the world has an application called ‘Golfshot’ downloaded in his smart phone that tells him the location of each of the holes in the Golf course. Now his smart watch works in synch with his smart phone, which is lying in his Golf Bag, telling him the exact distance from his watch to the hole. This helps him to decide which golf club to use in a particular shot. When Pebble Technology Corporation developed a smart watch, Pebble Watch, it started an entire new craze. Its design is such that it looks like a normal watch but changes to a smart watch at a touch. All these smart watches have special screens as the watch faces. Experts are opining that it will be another two years till 2016 that half the smart phone users will also have a smart watch as an accessory. But they do not see smart watch replacing smart phones because of the small screen size, which is totally unsuitable for internet browsing. Scores of electronics and technology companies like Sony, Qualcomm, Citizen, Motorola, Seiko, Nike etc are

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What is the future of smart watches? hough the smart watches make the information analysis experience highly personal. The entire smart watch arena has a problem of little battery size. These watches need to be charged daily to a charging station and it takes about 50 minutes to one hour to charge them. The watches cannot run the Android operating system themselves; hence have to rely on a simpler operating system. It will take nearly five years for super small size computer chips that use little power to arm these smart watches. It is thought that in the next five years, the smart watch segment may become a Rs 50,000 crore industry worldwide.<

What specialised smart watches will be a success? ports and defence are the two areas apart from high-tech related industries that will see specialised application of smart watches. They may cater to just one or two topics. For example, they can be used by an anti-ballistic missile battery operators or fighter pilots or ICU surgeons in a Hospital, to name a few.<

vying with each other for offering new and newer features and capabilities in their smart watches. Microsoft and Apple are also rumoured to be developing their own. A design patent to Apple has been awarded but the news is that Apple may delay its own iWatch till later this year or the start of the New Year. As the technology advances we will see better and faster processors with less electricity usage. As of today wearable computing is in its nascent stage. At best these can be used as single-purpose devices. Recently at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport the gate-staff

was found using smart watches to tell them flight information and time schedule; as listening to their ear-pieces with the airport announcement was sometimes distracting. This smart watch wearing staff can also locate each other at the different spots at the huge airport and its different locations. We often hear at our Indian railway station announcement of the driver or the guard of the train to see the stationmaster or the cleaning staff to attend a particular place. Smart watch wearing staff can be easily located and called for more efficiently.<