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Posted on 20 November, 2013, No Comments Comments admin
” In the last few days I have had an opportunity to travel to different assembly segments of Delhi for campaigning for the BJP. These visits have been an eye-opener. A section of Delhi seems enthused by the success of Delhi Metro rail and construction of a few flyovers. A very large part of Delhi still lives with sub-standard amenities. Large areas of South Delhi including Tughlakabad, Badarpur, Ambedkarnagar, Sangam Vihar, Devli are still not adequately connected by public transport. The water availability is negligible. Water tankers are a frequent mode of supplying water to households where residents queue up with buckets to collect water. It was in one of these localities that Rahul Gandhi a few days ago spoke about the glittering Airport of Delhi.
I visited Mustafabad, an assembly segment of East Delhi. The grievance of the citizens was that girl students have to travel a long distance to attend a government high school since High school facilities in the locality are negligible. The whole of Delhi is perturbed by the 300 percent hike in electricity tariff and the 1100 percent hike in water tariff.
The Aam Aadmi Party has a disproportionate presence in the media. After the announcement of the candidates by the Congress and the BJP the AAP is being squeezed out of the contest. Its role is only that of the spoiler. The BSP has presence in selective pockets particularly in rural Delhi and resettlement colonies. In minority dominated constituencies of East Delhi the Peace Party is making its presence felt. Their presence is materially going to alter the outcome of the results. “
Posted on 19 November, 2013, No Comments Comments admin
Some well meaning friends have raised the issue regarding award of Bharat Ratna to Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayeeji.
As a much younger colleague, I have had an opportunity to work with Shri Vajpayee both in the Party and in the Government. Unquestionably, he is one of the tallest politicians of his generation. He was a parliamentarian par excellence. He was a public speaker whom millions waited for hours to hear. People still recollect his style of oratory. As an Opposition leader , he never lost the national vision even while attacking the government. Every word he spoke reflected the Statesman in him.
As a Prime Minister, he was a democrat to the core. The Cabinet meetings he presided discussed each issue at length. After weighing the merits of alternative viewpoints, he nodded in favour of one and the whole Cabinet instantly accepted his view. His Government is remembered for its’ emphasis on infrastructure creation, economic management of the country, its’ approach on issues of national security and a new look foreign policy that he advocated. He had a spotless public life for over five decades. Even though age and health have prevented him from active politics in the last few years, he is still remembered as one of the most popular Prime Minister India has ever had. Can a national award or honour add anything more to his stature and credibility? His well meaning friends and admirers would be well advised to keep him out of any awards controversy. His stature is far taller than any award.
Posted on 18 November, 2013, No Comments Comments admin
Yesterday, 17th November, 2013 was a defining moment. Shri Narendra Modi addressed lakhs of prople who had assembled at Bengaluru. His speech was coherent, powerful and one which connected with the people. The response of the audience was electrifying.
Shri Rahul Gandhi addressed a well publicized Congress rally at Dr.Ambedkar Nagar in New Delhi. Dr.Ambedkar Nagar is a Congress stronghold. The Congress Party usually wins that constituency comfortably. Despite the build-up by the Delhi Chief Minister and the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee the audience was missing. Shri Rahul Gandhi delayed his arrival at the meeting so that the organizers could mobilize more people. These efforts did not succeed. When Sh. Gandhi arrived, the thin audience became thinner. People started leaving. Smt. Sheila Dixit’s appeal to them to listen to Rahul ji eventually did not cut ice. Sh. Rahul Gandhi eventually addressed a few people and empty chairs. The high point of his speech was to credit the UPA with building a great airport in Delhi. Oblivious of the grievance of the local people, he highlighted the success of the Delhi government in providing electricity and water to the people. The crowds had come from Ambedkar Nagar and Sangam Vihar—the two assembly seats where they have to buy water from private tankers. The electricity bills in Delhi have sky rocketed 300 percent during the Congress rule. The water bills have increased by 1100 percent. The Congress votes in Delhi will be inversely proportionate to the hike in electricity and water tariffs.
Posted on 17 November, 2013, No Comments Comments admin
The Congress party’s Vice President Rahul Gandhi has referred to the BJP as ‘Chor’ and a ‘Lotera’. He needs to introspect.
Has the Congress party forgotten that the scams in the purchase of Bofors guns and HDW submarine had taken place when Congress was in power.
Two congress Prime Minster’s won a vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha by buying Members of Parliament.
Surely the party could not have forgotten the JMM bribery case and the cash for vote’s scandal.
The three mega scams of the UPA Government are the 2G spectrum allocation, the Commonwealth Games and the coal block allocations scam.
The Congress runs a ‘kleptocracy’ and not a ‘democracy’.
Posted on 16 November, 2013, No Comments Comments admin
The campaign for the five State Assembly elections has peaked. The election results for Mizoram will be influenced by the local politics of the State. The other four elections of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Delhi will have a major impact on India’s politics. They will lay down a road-map for next year’s General elections for the Lok Sabha.
Madhya Pradesh under Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan Ji has been a turn-around story. In 2003, the Congress was defeated. Its two term government led by Digvijay Singh failed on the development front. Bijli, Sadak, Pani were the issues. Today Madhya Pradesh has evolved out of the ‘Bimaru’ status. Its’ road network has hugely improved. It is in a position to provide a near 24 hour electricity in all districts of the State. It will soon be power surplus. Irrigation has improved substantially. It has a record agricultural growth rate. It is now competing with Punjab as the principal food grain producer of India. The State Budget has increased several times over. The social welfare schemes in the State have been successful. Shivraj Ji enjoys a tall image in the State and is benefiting from the pro- incumbency in governance.
The PDS system, the health welfare schemes, the bonus paid to farmers to enhance rice production has immensely succeeded in Chhattisgarh. The State has waged a battle against Maoism. It has hugely benefited from the NDA’s decision to carve out a smaller separate State. Dr. Raman Singh is perceived as a pro Aam Admi legend.
The Congress in Delhi and Rajasthan suffers from a double anti-incumbency. As a national capital , the Delhi election is influenced both by local issues and national politics. The several Lokayukta reports against the Delhi government, the 300 percent increase in power tariff, the 1100 percent rise in water bills, inflation and a series of scams have all dented the Congress image in Delhi substantially.
The lackluster image of Congress leadership in Rajasthan coupled with the non-performance of the State Government is going to add to the Congress woes.
I won’t be surprised if the Congress gets a drubbing in all the four States. If that were to happen, the Central Government will be reduced to a lame duck.
Posted on 15 November, 2013, No Comments Comments admin
The Delhi Police has arrested three private detectives and three policemen in connection with illegal procurement of call data records of several persons in Delhi. It is alleged that my mobile phone call data record were amongst those which were being accessed by these persons. Earlier some others including a private detective and a policeman who was engaged at the behest of this detective had been arrested.
If call data records of citizens can so easily be procured it is a serious infringement of the right of privacy. Every citizen has a right to be left alone. Nobody can snoop on him as to whom he contacts and speaks to. In addition to this violation of the right to privacy in the case of a Member of Parliament such snooping also includes violation of his right of Privilege since the identity of individuals who contact the Members of Parliament if disclosed or found out would expose their sources and jeopardize their right to get information in future.
The private detectives and the policemen engaged by them appear to have been identified. But who was the client that these persons were acting for. Obviously such details were not being sought without a purpose or a motive. There had to be a client who engaged them to get these details. Investigations have so far failed to identify this client.
Posted on 14 November, 2013, No Comments Comments admin
Shri Naresh Aggarwal is a Samajwadi party member of the Rajya Sabha. I have seen him acquire the membership of four different political parties during the past few years. He serves them all with equal conviction.
Yesterday he asserted that Shri Narendera Modi is unfit to become a Prime Minister, since he started his career as a tea vendor. Surely, this statement coming from, a ‘Samajwadi’ is surprising. ‘Samajwad’ stands for equality and equity. It represents equal opportunity. It is only in India that a so called ‘Samajwadi Party’ can be controlled by a feudal mindset comprising of a Netaji, his son, brothers, cousins and nephews. The idea of a ‘little man’ in the crowd making it big appears repugnant to the Indian Samajwadis.
Dynasties are destructive of the real strength of a democracy. They replace talent and merit with family charismas. Dynasties virtually own political parties. They prevent inner party democracy. No mass leaders in dynastic parties can emerge without the tactical nod of the dynasties. Narendera Modi’s large acceptability is precisely because he has defied the shackles of this conventional system and communicated directly with the people. His emergence is on account of proven merit. He represents the rejection of a dynastic mindset. No wonder the ‘new India’ accepts him.
Posted on 13 November, 2013, No Comments Comments admin
“THE INDIAN EXPRESS” today has quoted from the book authored by Dr. A.P. Mukherjee the former CBI Director. Dr. Mukherjee claims that the then Prime Minister Sh. Rajiv Gandhi told him that middlemen needed to be eliminated from the Defence deals. Instead the money collected from these deals should be used for politically funding. This would clean the lower level of politics and dispense with the need to collect funds through political cadres and local methods.
Curiously this is exactly what happened in the 1980’s. The kickbacks in Bofors, HDW, submarine deals, airbus purchases all surfaced during that period. Was it the then government’s intention that commercial middlemen be eliminated and substituted with political middleman. Those occupying the seats of power replaced the hanger on’s in the corridor of power as defence agents.
Corruption follows Newton’s gravitational principle. It flows from the top to the bottom. An unclean top can never clean up the mess at the bottom.
Posted on 12 November, 2013, No Comments Comments admin
The Prime Minister has strongly argued that policy formulation is in the Executive domain and that the CBI should not investigate policy. What if the policy formulation is for collateral and corrupt purpose? The UPA Government’s policy was for a national resource, the 2G spectrum, should be allocated in 2008 at the 2001 prices. The policy was intended to cause loss to the national exchequer. The UPA Government’s policy was to allocate spectrum on a ‘first come first pay’ basis. The favourites were informed in advance about the change of policy. If the policy is intended to promote corruption, should there be immunity from the Prevention of Corruption Act?
The UPA’s policy was to allocate coal blocks not through an auction, not at the market price but through a discretionary screening mechanism. Coal blocks were allotted to a favourite few including Congress Party politicians. Should such a policy be immune from investigation ?
Posted on 11 November, 2013, No Comments Comments admin
The Prime Minister today spoke at an international conference on “Evolving Common Strategies to Combat Corruption and Crime”.
The conference was organized by the CBI. He understandably spoke on the CBI.
Merely stating that autonomy in investigations is already guaranteed to the CBI is not enough. In actual practice, the UPA government has consistently interfered in the investigative process and made the CBI pliable.
However, the further comment of the Prime Minister sounds a danger. He said “We should be able to clearly distinguish between operational autonomy and the rules of oversight, supervision and control in organizational and institutional matters that are normal for public bodies and the executives funded by the public money”.
Does this supervision and control extend to a discretion in sanctioning the budgets required for investigations ?
Does it extend to selecting pliable officers before posting them in the CBI ?
Does it extend to recalling their deputation and removing inconvenient officers ?
Additionally, the UPA government by offering post-retirement jobs to all CBI Directors is influencing the pre – retirement conduct of the Directors.
Has it left any scope for operational autonomy ?