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Posted on 28 February, 2014, No Comments Comments admin
Shri Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party has decided to ally with the BJP and be a part of the NDA. Additionally, a large number of political leaders, eminent citizens and political groups are extending their support to the BJP either by coming to the party or aligning with the NDA. The groundswell in support of the BJP/NDA and Narendra Modi is clearly visible.
When certain political groups identify themselves with the NDA their area of influence may be confined to a particular State. However, their joining sends a larger political signal. When the BJP announced Narendra Modi as its Prime Ministerial candidate the first reaction of some friends in the media and political observers was that the party would now find it difficult to get allies. They felt that the party would be politically isolated. When there is a groundswell of support, a party can even live in a ‘splendid isolation’. However, that was never to be. A strong BJP has capacity to attract more friends and allies than a weaker BJP. This groundswell of support which is visible in the BJP rallies is the game changer. It sends a message loud and clear of which way the wind is blowing. Today, those who had left the BJP in States like Gujarat and Karnataka have all returned adding to strength of the party. In states like Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Bihar and Tamil Nadu we have significant allies. There are several states in which electoral tie-ups before the elections or political tie-ups after the elections are both possible and probable.
I had always believed that a strong BJP will lead to a stronger NDA. How to strengthen the NDA requires a lesson from Atalji’s book. A three party NDA in 1996 became a 24-party NDA in 1998. To attract regional allies, one has to accept and respect India’s federal and diverse character. What is significant today is a combination of popular support, increasing number of allies and the social character of the expanding alliance. All this signals a new change.
Posted on 27 February, 2014, No Comments Comments admin
The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 was enacted 46 years after the idea was first mooted. Institution building is a challenging job. The best in terms of credibility, competence and fairness should be picked up for the appointment of four judicial members and four non-judicial members of Lokpal. It is regrettable that the outgoing UPA government is in a terrible hurry to make appointment on the eve of elections. For this purpose, it is cutting short procedures in order to ensure that an appointment is made. In the process, both legislative provisions and propriety are being violated. Let me elaborate in detail the violations which are taking place.
1. Violation of Section 4 (4) of the Act:
Section 4 (4) of the Act provides that “the Selection Committee shall regulate its own procedure in a transparent manner for selecting the Chairperson and members of the Lokpal”. The Selection Committee has met only once that is on February 21, 2014. In the said meeting, I understand that members of the Search Committee were appointed. Instead of the procedure for selection being laid down by the Selection Committee, the Department of Personnel Training (DoPT), had taken out an advertisement on January 17, 2014 i.e. on a day that the Selection Committee had not been constituted, inviting applications for appointment as judicial and non-judicial members of the Lokpal. I had written to the Prime Minister on January 20 and January 30, 2014 in this regard. Though I had received two replies from the Prime Minister, they did not address my principal concerns. Even though the DoPT has no role under the Act, it has framed rules to assign itself a role. Under the Act, that role belongs to the Selection Committee and Screening Committee. In the present case, neither of the two have any role in issuing the advertisement or inviting applications or short listing the applicants. This entire functioning has been usurped by the DoPT.
2. Expecting eligible people to apply for the post:
In my letter to the Prime Minister on January 20, 2014 I had written that “the very idea of retiring or sitting judges of the highest court having to move applications for a post-retirement assignment is repugnant to the dignity of the office that they have held. Retired judges who lobby with the establishment with their CVs compromise their self-respect and dignity. A job-seeking judge may not be the best person to be appointed as a member of the Lokpal. In any case, whether applications are to be invited or not has to be decided by the Selection Committee”. The Government went ahead and invited applications by February 7, 2014. I know, for fact, several sitting judges have refused to apply because they felt it compromised their dignity and self-respect. However, some others have forwarded their applications to their Chief Justices for being forwarded for consideration. The advertisement expects sitting judges in Paragraph 15 to send a detailed statement giving the CV including work experience and other achievements. In Paragraph 16 it expects judges to give a detailed justification as to how the applicant fulfills the conditions for the post applied for. This justification has to be written within 200 words. Who decided this procedure? It is certainly not the Selection Committee or the Search Committee but the Minister in charge of DoPT. He has no role under this Act. However, the DoPT has usurped a role to itself.
3. Search Committee work discretion reduced by DoPT:
The rules framed are ultra vires the Act. Rule 10 of the Rules states that the Search Committee shall prepare a panel of names to be considered by the Selection Committee only from amongst the list of persons provided by the DoPT, Govt of India. The short list from amongst the applicants is being prepared only by the DoPT. The discretion of the Search Committee is being further reduced. It will only be involved in the clerical exercise of selecting the name from the shortlist prepared by the DoPT.
The media informs us, that one of the eminent members of the Search Committee, Shri Fali S. Nariman has declined to accept the honour of being on the Search Committee. Obviously, men of stature will not agree to become rubber stamps. The Government had decided to pack the Search Committee with its supporters. Amongst the names suggested for the Search Committee included the names of government lawyers. Thus only government lawyers from the legal fraternity and a de facto Congress spokesman from amongst the media were proposed on the Search Committee. Smt. Sushma Swaraj did not agree to these names. The Government should realize that an institution does not belong to one political party. The more fair and credible institutions we create, the better it will be for the system. Marginalizing the Search Committee or deciding to pack the Lokpal with ‘friendly names’ is not necessarily in the interest of the institution. The UPA has done enough damage to the CBI, CAG, PAC, JPC and the CVC. I hope, the Lokpal survives this assault.
Posted on 26 February, 2014, No Comments Comments admin
The country is passing through an interesting phase. The process of re-grouping and re-polarization is on. There are many who want to discover their legitimate space in the elections through tie-ups. There are others who want to avoid irrelevance by creating a third or the fourth Front. While Narendra Modi addresses the mega rallies, some Congress Ministers snatch AIRTIME by resorting to foul language.
The Union home Minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde has an ever smiling face. He is a man known for his courteous behavior. Surprisingly he has chosen to threaten the electronic media which he finds is no longer government friendly. He threatened to expose it and even reveal information which intelligence agencies provide to him against the media. It was an un-Shinde like comment. He later gave an unconvincing denial that the words ‘political media’ should be read as ‘social media’. But why blame the social media? By its very character, it is bound to be a little blunt and somewhat irresponsible at times. It is incapable of censorship.
The External Affairs Minister, Salman Khurshid is normally pleasant and courteous. He is, however a different man when he visits his constituency in Farrukhabad. On one occasion he threatened journalists belonging to a Media Group by saying “it is easy to enter Farrukhabad for them but very difficult to get out”. Yesterday he used unacceptable language against BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
Frustration of the Congress leaders is quite understandable. The party faces public hostility. The day of reckoning is coming closer. Ten years in power-even the modest have become arrogant. The Congress leaders may lose their deposits in the elections but won’t shed their arrogance. Their comments are condemnable. They are completely out of sync with a hostile public opinion.
I had earlier referred to the Third Front as a ‘Losers’ Front’. This time the ‘Losers Front’ wants to get back with a split personality. There is a Third Front with Left and there is the anti-Left Federal Front with the Trinamool Congress. One can’t tolerate the other. There are some in the Front who are politically flexible and were even a part of the NDA. They can aspire to take support from the Congress; some can even be a part of the UPA. For them it is a battle for survival. There are some cleverer ones amongst them. They have kept their options open by a wait and watch policy. They are yet to open up their cards and explain their strategic absence at the Third Front Meets on account of prior engagements or personal commitments.
2014 is an election being dominated by governance issues. Economy, corruption, security and leadership appear to be the principal issues. Considering the efforts being made to cobble up non-ideological combinations of smaller groups, a major issue that will influence the electorates’ choice will be –“Who can provide a stable government?” Certainly not the big loser of 2014 elections. Most certainly not the disparate combinations of non-ideological and politically flexible groups. I have an uneasy feeling that the ‘Losers Front’ will become smaller and smaller. Some well meaning parties will exercise a more sensible option. The Congress through the Shinde and Khurshid like statements will only make feeble attempts to muddy the waters.
Posted on 25 February, 2014, No Comments Comments admin
The Minority Morcha of the BJP and the Rashtriya Muslim Manch today held a convention at New Delhi. I attended the inaugural session. The conference was inaugurated by the Party President, Shri Rajnath Singh. The response of the delegates attending the conference was overwhelming.
An organized campaign has gone on for several years to create a fear factor amongst the minorities about the BJP. The party workers amongst minority community members have faced an uphill task in the past trying to convince members of the minority community that the BJP has no prejudice against them. There are some recent illustrations where the party’s stand has been highly appreciated by members of the minority community. After the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi and elsewhere, the BJP has more than a comfortable relationship with the members of the Sikh community. BJP members in Punjab, Delhi,Rajasthan, MP, Chhatisgarh, Uttarakhand belonging to Sikh community have been elected to State Legislature and even to Parliament. A large number of political workers belonging to the Sikh community across the country have been working for the BJP.
In the last elections to the Goa Assembly the Party had put up a large number of members of the Christian community. Most of the minority community voters of Goa voted for the BJP. The imaginary wall between the Christian community and the BJP in Goa has collapsed. Many of our ministers including the Deputy Chief Minister belong to the minority community. In the recently elections to the Rajasthan Assembly only four members of the minority community – two Sikhs and two Muslims were elected to the legislative assembly. All the four belong to the BJP. A very large number of members have been elected to the local bodies in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh from the minority community. It is a pleasant lesson for us in the BJP that wherever we have put up several candidates belonging to various minority communities and tried to groom leaders from these communities, we have got a good response from the voters also.
The clear distinction between the BJP and others is that we do not treat minorities as instruments of political power. We treat them as equals and address their concerns as that of any other citizen. At the Conference today we declared that our objective is to make India a ‘riot free country’ where every citizen including members of minority community are guaranteed security; all are treated as co-equals with no discrimination. We pledge to work for economic growth of every Indian which includes members of the minority community so that we improve their quality of life.
The Conference held today decided that our supporters would be organizing at least a thousand similar conferences all over the country in order to convey the approach of the BJP towards members of the minority communities and allay all misconceptions which our opponents have created in their minds.
Posted on 24 February, 2014, No Comments Comments admin
In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections 2014, the season is on for political speculations. The ‘know-alls’ of Delhi are continuing to evolve their views not based on any ‘field reality’ but based on either their own assessments or what the pollsters keep indicating. Till September 13, 2013 when the BJP announced Narendra Modi’s name for Prime Minister candidateship, the speculation was “Will the Party be able to project one person”. Additionally, there was an argument that the issues of governance and anti-incumbency against the government will take a back seat and the elections will get polarized. The size of Modi’s rallies is unquestionably the largest I have seen in the past 25 years. Never since 1989 have we seen such enthusiasm in the Party rank and file; the only exceptions were the two elections of 1998 and 1999 when Atalji was considered the most acceptable Prime Ministerial candidate in the political horizon of India. The debate then shifted to a secondary question – who else will support the BJP? Will any new ally join the BJP? Our internal assessment was –many allies would join the BJP either before or after the elections provided it is a strong BJP.
The most recent poll was done by a reputed agency AC Nielson for the news channel ABP News. I have never vouched for the correctness of these polls. If the pollster is credible I regard these polls as ‘indicative’.
What do these polls indicate. The clear message of these polls is that there is going to be one party in the next elections which will be in three figures. It probably will cross the 200 mark. Its allies will also get some seats. The BJP would have a high strike rate in States in the Northern, Central and Western parts of India. In states like Bihar and Karnataka located in the East and South, it would reconsolidate its gains. In some other States the BJP would be a balancer. Amongst various players in the traditionally Non-BJP states, the Modi–BJP momentum could benefit any ally ;even without an ally the party could pick up some stray seats.
The aspirants for Government formation are many. The obvious front-runner is the BJP-led NDA. If the Congress is reduced to a double digit figure, it would be a clear loser. It cannot be the nucleus of an alliance. The Third Front and the Federal front have too many claimants. There is hardly a large single claimant with presence in more than one state. Obviously, the front-runner’s ability to first pass the post is significant. The question now being posted is – How will the BJP led NDA cover the last mile?
This is a time for theoretical calculations. The political pundits will espouse on them. If one gets a feel of the ground reality it will become clear that these large crowds at Modi rallies are bringing a clear message – the front-runner’s score eventually will even be higher than what the pollsters are capturing. It is for smaller groups in several states to decide which way they want to move. There are smaller groups in several states which can marginally add to the collective vote of the BJP and allies. There are larger state groups which have traditionally pursued non-Congress politics in the states. The choice of aligning with the Congress at the Centre either by giving or taking support is not a long term option. These Groups have to make a clear choice. They either align in Delhi with the NDA or follow the Congress option. There is a limited option for most of these groups. If Modi’s rating are over 50%, surely every state is impacted by it. I won’t be surprised if the last mile eventually takes care of itself.
Posted on 23 February, 2014, No Comments Comments admin
The last session of Parliament during the tenure of UPA-II has ended. This gives me an opportunity to look back at the past five years on the functioning of Rajya Sabha where I had an opportunity to function as Leader of Opposition and the leader of my own party. It gives me a great satisfaction that the past five years saw some of the most outstanding debates in the Rajya Sabha where a large number of Members from both the Treasury and the Opposition participated. It is my regret that a lot of valuable time was lost on account of disturbances and confrontationist politics. On an overall analysis I have not the least doubt that high quality debates serve a larger public purpose and even enable the Opposition and other Members to achieve much more through debates rather than the disturbances. A well prepared Opposition has an added advantage of embarrassing the Government by confronting some ministers who may be inadequately prepared to deal with the issues.
I was going through my personal records to recollect some of the most outstanding debates which have been held in the Rajya Sabha in the past five years. The full facts of the 2G spectrum allotment were unearthed and highlighted in a three day long debate in the Monsoon session of 2009. The then Telecom Minister Shri A. Raja who was being accused of the scam was put to hard time to defend himself. A large number of facts unknown till then made in the course of the debate are now a part of the CBI charge-sheet against the accused in the said case.
The Prime Minister issued a joint communiqué with the Prime Minister of Pakistan at Sharm-el-Sheikh where India’s concern on terrorism were made sub-servient to the Government policy on negotiation with Pakistan. The Rajya Sabha witnessed an outstanding debate in the form of clarifications from the Prime Minister on the Sharm-el-Sheikh draft. The debate which followed the statement issued on the climate change negotiations at Copenhagen went into detailed intricacies of the climate change draft. The quality of debate could be an object of envy to the experts on the subject.
The Justice Liberhan Commission report on the incidents of 6th December 1992 was debated in both Houses of Parliament. The debate continued into the late hours of the evening where Members highlighted absorbing facts from the contents of the report either highlighting the allegations or pointing out the contradictions. The impeachment of Justice Soumitra Sen saw a two-day debate in the Rajya Sabha. The Rajya Sabha had turned into a court room where the Members heard the Judge for several hours. The plea of the Judge was considered and Members analysed the facts on record and finally found the Judge guilty. The issues relating to North East in terms of the communal strife in Dubri and Kokrajhar as also attack on the North East students and youths in other parts of the country was repeatedly debated in the Rajya Sabha. The Members closed ranks in larger national interest to emphasise the sanctity of these issues of North East.
Issues of corruption dominated the Rajya Sabha. From specific issues such as Commonwealth Games scam, the Coal Block allocation scam, the VVIP Helicopter deal to general issues relating to rise of corruption in the country were debated at length. The Lokpal Bill was debated twice over. There was an aborted discussion on 29th December 2011 which stopped at midnight where the majority Members appeared to be against the weak Lokpal Bill. However, the Bill was referred to the Select Committee of Rajya Sabha which rectified the Bill and eventually the Lokpal final draft was approved by the Rajya Sabha. The arrest of the anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare witnessed a heated debate of high quality in the Rajya Sabha.
Sixty years of the completion of Rajya Sabha provided an opportunity to the Members to pause and reflect on the position of Indian democracy. The debate was non-partisan and inspirational. The phone tapping of a lobbyist gave rise to the discussion on propriety of phone-tapping as also the role of lobbyists in decision-making came up for a heated discussion.
The Rajya Sabha has repeatedly discussed the functioning of several Ministries which came up for consideration. Various legislations have been passed by the Rajya Sabha; the most landmark of them being the Women’s Reservation Bill (not passed by the Lok Sabha), the Lokpal law, the Andhra Pradesh Bifurcation law, the Civil Liability on Nuclear Damages Bill, the Food Bill and the new Land Bill. On the Civil Nuclear Liability law the discussion went into detailed technicalities and was of high quality. The debate on the Women Reservation Bill and the Bill for creation of Telengana witnessed heated discussion where Members had to make speeches during disturbances. At the end of the day the debate went on despite the disturbances.
Most of these debates have been telecast live by even the Private News channels which show the public interest in the quality debates. One of the debates relating to impeachment of Justice Soumitra Sen has now become a subject matter of a detailed book published by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.
When the Rajya Sabha debates, it debates well. Several Members, particularly the Chairman have been exasperated with the disturbances. He went on to comment – if the Rajya Sabha was a ‘federation of anarchists’. Members were seen on their legs for a detailed discussion on whether the comment should remain on record or not. Some agreed and others objected to it and one of the Members wondered if anarchists can have a federation. This was the Rajya Sabha at its best but hopefully there could have been greater opportunities for debate than otherwise.
Posted on 22 February, 2014, No Comments Comments admin
On February 20, 2014 the Rajya Sabha organized a formal farewell for its retiring members. Besides the usual formalities, the farewell had a key highlight, the screening of extracts of a serial titled ‘SAMVIDHAN’ on the making of India’s Constitution. This serial has been produced for the Rajya Sabha TV and supported by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.
The serial has been directed by Shyam Benegal, one of the most outstanding film makers of India in the recent times. Shyam Benegal was also a colleague of ours for six years as a nominated member of Rajya Sabha. Well known actors from both cinema and theatre have acted in the serial. It will be a ten part serial which will be telecast initially on Rajya Sabha TV. Each episode is of one hour duration. In the course of the recording of the serial, a replica of the Central Hall of the Parliament was created in a studio at Mumbai. The replica looks identical to the Central Hall. Furnishings, photograph frames, the dais, the peculiar fans of the Central Hall are all there. Actors bore resemblance to the President of the Constituent Assembly Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Chairman of the Drafting Committee Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Govind Ballabh Pant, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, N Gopalaswami Ayyangar etc. The contents of the debates, discussions and speeches are based on what is contained in the text of the Constituent Assembly debates.
While I eagerly wait for the episodes of the serial to be telecast, having got a glimpse of the serial, I have no doubt that it brings on the screen the most fascinating story of the India’s constitution drafting. It is a history which is easier to absorb from the screen than from the books. Since the Rajya Sabha had budgeted for the entire cost of the serial and there is no profit motive in this regard, it may be serving a larger purpose, if after initial telecast on the Rajya Sabha TV, this is widely shown in all other mediums including the Doordarshan and the private channels. It is a must see serial for anyone who has interest in the subject. In particular all elected political representatives, political activists, media persons, academics and students must necessarily watch this serial. It should be made available eventually on the You Tube so that people across the world can have access to it.
Coming close to the telecast of episodes of the serial ‘Pradhan Mantri’ by a private news channel, the presentation of history on TV and the digital medium can serve as a great education for interested persons. If quality episodes of ‘Pradhan Mantri’ and ‘Samvidhan’ attract audiences, hopefully it may be beginning of India’s History Channel.
Posted on 22 February, 2014, No Comments Comments admin
The last session of the Parliament ended yesterday. We look back on the last five years with a mixed feeling. The last five years showed a disturbed Parliament. On one hand, the disturbances in Parliament were much higher than in the past. On the other hand, some of the most outstanding debates took place and some longstanding legislations were approved by the Parliament. The BJP has a sense of satisfaction that we contributed to some very important debates on the economy, federalism, national security and corruption. At the same time the party rose above partisan considerations and supported several legislations such as the Food Bill, the Land Acquisition Bill ,the Lokpal Bill and the Andhra Pradesh Bifurcation.
The last five years of Parliament witnessed the government facing serious allegations of corruption like the 2G Spectrum Allocation, the Coal Block Allocation Scam, the Commonwealth Game Scam, the VVIP Agusta Helicopter deal as some of the scams that eroded the credibility of the Government. There was a non-performing government on the management of the economy. The growth rate of the country had depleted, the fiscal deficit rose to record high, the Rupee had weakened. The investment environment in the country was extremely disturbed. The decision making process of the Government was paralyzed. On National Security, existence of insurgency picked up in the Maoist dominated regions of the country. Jihadi terrorism, both cross-border and indigenous continued to flourish. The UPA government had linked inaction on national security with vote bank politics rather than security considerations. On foreign policy, India lived in disturbed neighbourhood. Our relations with most of our immediate neighbours deteriorated. Initial years saw the UPA government becoming subservient to the United States and finally the relationship between India and the US soured on certain recent incidents.
The UPA had hostile attitude towards various established institutions. The Public Accounts Committee was not allowed to effectively function. The JPC on the 2G allocation scam came out with a report which damaged the credibility of the Parliamentary institution. The CAG was repeatedly attacked in the Parliament. It was this confrontationist attitude of the UPA, which resulted in the loss of certain working days of the Parliament, particularly when it came to investigating several scams in the Government. The last three sessions of Parliament were lost on account of mishandling of the Telangana issue by the UPA. It was the Congress members of the Parliament who led the disturbances in these sessions. We end the last session of Parliament with a sense of satisfaction. To the best of our ability we performed our role as an effective Opposition. The June, 2009 session of the Parliament started on a high note for the UPA when it had been elected for the second term. The February, 2014 session ended in an all-time low with the prospect of the UPA being reduced to a much smaller political combination. The Parliament was used as an effective instrument to keep the Government in check and expose its misdemeanor. Our only regret is more debate and lesser disturbances would have enabled us to expose the UPA even more.
Posted on 21 February, 2014, No Comments Comments admin
The creation of Telangana, having become a reality, political observers and media persons will now start analyzing the political beneficiaries or otherwise of the decision. It would be unwise to view the decision of the central legislature only through this narrow prism. Telangana had become a legitimate aspiration of the people of that region. The sentiment was so overwhelming that to delay it any further would have precipitated greater unrest. It was next to impossible to reverse the aspirations of that region.
The mishandling of the issue in the last few years by the Congress Party aggravated the problem. Instead of attempting to build consensus as was done in the course of creation of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand warring factions of the Congress Party created a confrontation between the people living in the State. Governance in the entire state had come to a standstill. Andhra Pradesh has been one of the most enterprising states of India. To resolve the issue, one had to choose between political opportunism and statesmanship.
The BJP state unit had been committed to Telangana for over three decades. In 2006, the central party had endorsed the demand. The BJP, therefore, pursued its twin objects. Firstly, there must be creation of a separate state of Telangana. Secondly, there must be adequate justice done to the people of Seemandhra since Seemandhra economically was going to suffer as a result of the division of the state. Those who indulge in extreme posturing look for immediate gains. Balancing between the twin objects was not contradictory. People of Telangana are happy that their state has been created and that Hyderabad is an integral part of Telangana. The success or failure of the legislation, in both Houses, depended on the BJP. The balance of power was with the BJP. We decided to lead in favour of Telangana, which has been our longstanding demand.
There were two other challenges. How do you balance the interests of Seemandhra? How do you highlight the issue that the government has gone wrong in the process of creation of Telangana? While highlighting the latter, it was our duty as a vigilant opposition to point out that to vest the law & order power for Hyderabad in the governor instead of the Council of Ministers a constitution amendment may be necessary. Our stand was vindicated when the Government’s response on this issue was at best half-hearted and unconvincing. Further, it was a part of the party’s conviction to extract from the Government positive commitments with regard to safeguarding financial interests of Seemandhra. We used all Parliamentary tactics available to pursue this end. Further, our position as a party, which had the balance of power in numbers, gave us an added advantage. On the floor of the Rajya Sabha we were, therefore, able to extract from the government the commitment that Seemandhra would get a special category status for five years, investments in Seemandhra would attract tax incentives on the lines made available to other states, a backward region package would be given for districts of Rayalseema and north coastal Andhra Pradesh. Polavaram, which had been declared a national project, will now have facilities of rehabilitation and resettlement, the resource gap for Seemandhra would be supported by the Central Government till such times the 14th Finance Commission fixes it entitlement. This package is fairly reasonable and would substantially look after the interests of Seemandhra.
If any further demand needs to be pursued such as a support from the Centre in building a new capital for Seemandhra, the BJP will play a positive role in facilitating this aspiration also.
As the dust settles down, it would become clear that even though BJP was traditionally a smaller political group in the undivided Andhra Pradesh, it performed its duty with a sense of responsibility and tried to be fair between the two dividing regions of the erstwhile state of Andhra Pradesh.
Posted on 20 February, 2014, No Comments Comments admin
In the last few decades several countries moved in the direction of abolition of the death sentence. Many well meaning people in India joined in this demand. However, the emergence of terrorism in the last three decades has influenced my thinking against it. Can a country which has suffered so extensively on account of terrorism move towards being an abolitionist? It is precisely on account of the emergence of terror in India that India has not joined the abolitionist bandwagon. However, the Supreme Court, in a balancing act, while uploading the death penalty has restricted it to ‘rarest of rare’ cases.