Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Pak duplicity exposed

The bid to gain world-wide praise and acclamation through duplicitous action by Pak boomeranged on it. Pak arranged a farcical meeting between Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is undergoing imprisonment in Pak and facing a death sentence for allegedly spying for India, his mother and wife. But it was a sham to hoodwink the world outside of itself. Kulbhushan met them sitting across the glass wall. They were separated by a glass wall. They talked through the intercom. They were not allowed to meet face to face. They were separated by a wall of glass. Kulbhushan's mother and wife were put to all types of humiliations and insults in Pakistan. They were asked to take their Mangle Sutra, Bindis and bangles off and change their attire before the meeting. Pak media was allowed to ask them undesirable questions. It was a farcical meeting between Kulbhushan's mother and his wife arranged by Pakistan. Pakistan described it as its humanitarian move. It was all done to show the International Court of Justice and the rest of the world that how serious Pak was and what a great human approach it adopted. Even Kulbhushan Jhadav was tutored by Pakistan authorities to speak before his family members. Pak not only tortured two Indian women but also hurt their cultural and religious sentiments. Its action is intolerable for India. Pak duplicity was exposed when Kulbhushan's mother and wife related everything to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and other officials. Pakistan military court sentenced Kulbhushan to death, but International Court of Justice stayed the death sentence and the matter is sub-judice there. Pak has woven a false case against Kulbhushan, who is an ex-Indian Navy Commander, of spying for India against Pakistan as a RAW agent. But the truth is that Kulbhushan Jhadhav was kidnapped from Iran by Al-Qaeda men and taken to Pakistan. Kulbhushan was in Iran for personal business dealings. Pakistan Military court is trying his case. He was also not allowed consular access even after India's pleadings umpteen times for that. Prime Minister Narendra Modi must ask External Affairs Ministry to go the whole hog internationally against Pak duplicity and farcical meeting that it arranged between Kulbhushan and his mother and wife. The photo of the meeting between Kulbhushan and his mother and wife with a wall of glass in between them has surprised not only India but the entire world at Pak's bestial behaviour. Pakistan's insensitive treatment of the mother and wife of Kulbhushan Jadhav is not acceptable. The meeting was conducted by Pak to bolster a false and unsubstantiated narrative of his alleged activities. Also, Jadhav, who is on death row in Pakistan on charges of alleged spying, seemed to be under stress and speaking in an atmosphere of coercion.Kulbhushan Jadhav is a retired officer of the Indian Navy and was kidnapped from Iran. Although Pak claims that Jadhav was arrested from Balochistan. The Pakistan military court has sentenced him to hang on charges of espionage. To save Jadhav, India moved the International Court of Justice, which ordered Pakistan in May to stay his execution.

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Loss of public exchequer and interest

Winter session of Parliament is already shortened. It started late by almost a month. It convened on December 15 and since then what is witnessed by the people of the nation in Parliament is uproar, chaos and bedlam. No parliamentary business of public interest has been transacted. It starts in the morning and after the hour or two when the chaotic condition created by both Treasury and Opposition benches becomes unbearable, the Speaker adjourns Lok Sabha and Chairman adjourns Rajya Sabha for the last 5 days. Parliament functioned only on the first day of the winter session. Disruption in parliamentary proceedings appears to be the hallmark of our MPs. Both the camps ruling and the opposition are rigid on their stand. Congress demands an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his statement that former PM and his predecessor Dr. Manmohan Singh attended a seminar hosted by expelled Congress MP Mani Shankar Aiyar in which former Pak foreign minister and other dignitaries participated to hatch an anti-India conspiracy. PM Modi made this allegation against his predecessor at an election meeting to polarize the majority community in the favour of his party. Now when the Parliament convened for Winter Session, Congress party demands an apology from PM Modi by making the clarification that he had alleged against his predecessor involving Pakistan to win Gujarat assembly elections. The BJP rejected Congress demand outright and Rajya Sabha Chairperson Venkaih Naidu said that as PM made allegation outside Parliament, he would give no apology. Congress members are adamant on PM's apology. In the war of word between opposition and ruling, the helpless public suffers most. The boisterous nature of both the BJP and the Congress is hampering the parliamentary proceedings. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to be the most reasonable and responsible leader of the nation. But to win an election, he should have also not made this type of allegation against his predecessor like Dr. Manmohan Singh whose stature is of a fine gentleman. He is an economist par excellence, besides being the former PM of the country. Despite several allegations of corruption against his previous UPA govt., no one makes any personal allegation against him. So, PM Modi's innuendo against him of colluding with anti-nationals doesn't hold any water. Disrupting Parliament is not a good idea. Congress should demand an apology from PM by holding meetings and rallies. But stalling Parliament merely for an apology from the PM has no justification. PM Modi appears to believe that everything is right in war and love. He had to win Gujarat elections. So, he made an allegation of this type. Ruling dispensation has a greater role in ensuring that Parliament is run smoothly. The ruling BJP must make effort to resolve the issue amicably and run the Parliament smoothly. Several Bills of Public interests are awaiting the nod of the Parliament. Disrupting Parliament over trifle will not be condoned by the people of the country as they are watching Parliament functioning on their TV sets. Crores of rupees are spent a day on the running of the Parliament. It is taxpayers' money. MPs must know that the people will ask them why they have turned Parliament into a fish market. People don't witness any reasoned debate on any issue of public interest in Parliament in the recent past. Key legislations on the agenda during the session are the followings: -- The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill to criminalise triple talaq -- The Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill to give constitutional status to National Commission on Backward Classes -- The GST (Compensation to States) Bill -- Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill -- The Consumer Protection Bill -- The Financial Resolution & Deposit Insurance Bill for creating a framework to oversee financial institutions and stock exchanges in case of insolvency -- The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill -- Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill -- The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill -- and the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Inquire and act immediately

Delhi Metro rail is the Lifeline of Delhiites. Any sort of negligence in the running of Metro rails and of its staff can cause an immeasurable damage in terms of human lives and property. Negligence, callous and careless approach of the staff must be dealt with stringently. Despite the high fair of Metro rail, a large number of people ride it only because it is swift, punctual and safe. But the yesterday's incident in which a Metro rail crashed into the wall at Kalindi Kunj depot while on trial puts a big question mark on its running and the functioning of the staff. Metro train was reportedly allowed to run without checking its brake system. It is purely a human error caused by the human negligence. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has done right by ordering a high-level inquiry into the incident. The report of the inquiry must be completed within a fixed time. It should also recommend an appropriate action so that there could be no recurrence of the incident like this. Metro in Delhi is the most convenient mode of conveyance in the city and NCR. Majority of the office goers in Delhi go to their offices by Metro rails. It is only because of its fast, prompt and safe service. Providing better Metro rail service will help reduce the pollution level in the city. By giving comfortable, fast, punctual and sincere service to the Delhiites, Metro rail will certainly attract even the car owners to ride it. But at the same time, it is of utmost importance to take care of the safety Metro rail riders. Metro trains run so fast and swift that Delhiites can go one corner to another in the city in less than one hour. It also gives hassle-free service. There is no issue of red light signals at traffic crossing points with Metro. Metro train saves time and provides hassle-free service. Being the most popular mode of conveyance, DMRC has rightly swung into action immediately after this incident of ramming of the Metro train into the wall at Kalindi kunj depot. Metro is the first preference of Delhiites among the public transports. So, its sincere surveillance is necessary to keep Delhiites safe. DMRC has ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident in which a metro train crashed into a wall yesterday at the Kalindi Kunj depot while on a trial run. The three-member committee consists of Executive Directors Rolling Stock (Project), Rolling Stock (Operations and Maintenance) and Operations. The DMRC said, prima facie it appears to be a case of human error and negligence and appropriate action will be taken after the inquiry. A trial train was moved from the workshop without testing the brake system as a result of which, while the train was moving up the ramp for washing, it rolled back and hit the adjacent boundary wall. No person was injured in the incident. The Metro train which rammed into the wall was reportedly driverless. It is to be made public that on whose order the Metro was allowed to move driverless. This aspect must also be inquired into. Whoever is found guilty must be punished without any loss of time. A message must go out that malfunctioning in the upkeep or the running of Delhi Metro will not be tolerated at any cost.

Monday, December 18, 2017

BJP won, but with a wake-up call

BJP is heading for victory in Gujarat for the record 6th consecutive time and it is also set to win Himachal Pradesh assembly elections. The victory is victory and the defeat is defeat. But BJP must take the message from Gujarat that though it won for the sixth consecutive time, its strength of MLAs in assembly is expected to go down by more than 15 MLAs. As the counting is in progress, it is difficult to get the exact number. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's magic still works, which has been amply testified by Gujarat and Himachal assembly election results. But one thing clearly indicates that his magic has also started losing its sheen. As far as Congress’ newly elected President Rahul Gandhi's performance is concerned, he led the Gujarat election campaign from the front against the formidable rival BJP and gave a very tough fight to it. He also took the three young leaders of Gujarat on board against the BJP. He brought the PAAS leader Hardik Patel, SC/ST face Jignesh Mevani and OBC leader Alpesh Thakor on a single platform to support the Congress party. Alpesh Thakor finally joined the Congress Party whereas Hardik and Jignesh supported it from outside. The clear picture is yet to emerge how far Hardik succeeded in convincing his community Patidar not to vote for BJP. It appears from the result that Hardik influenced the Partidar voters against the BJP to some extent, but not in totality. One thing that Congress also lacked that it failed to project a Chief Ministerial face in the Gujarat assembly elections. In absence of an alternative face, people may have got confused that if Congress won who would be their Chief Minister. Rahul Gandhi laboured hard in Gujarat elections. It also appeared this time to the people that there was alternative to BJP before them. He may not be as eloquent as Prime Narendra Modi, but people also gathered in large number to hear him. The worrying reports for the BJP in Gujarat elections are that the young voters voted for Congress. It is a good sign that the Congress party under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi has caught the imagination of the Youth. The youth had played a major role in voting PM Modi to power in 2014 Lok Sabha election. As far as Himachal assembly election result is concerned, it has been the tradition of the state that every 5 alternate years, the government is changed. It has been happening since 1980. Both the BJP and Congress come to power after every five years alternately. The Gujarat result also shows that downward trend is about to set in BJP if no corrective steps were taken immediately. Its poll percentage in Gujarat has fallen sharply from what it had polled in 2014 whereas there has been a marked improvement in the polling percentage of the Congress. Strong opposition is the need of the democracy. Before going to Lok Sabha polls in 2019, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chattishigarh and four N-E state assembly elections are going to be held in 2018. Opposition Congress is resurging slowly, but steadily. It would also give a tough fight to the ruling BJP in these state assembly elections.

Saturday, December 16, 2017

Rahul Gandhi in command

It is a foregone conclusion that Rahul Gandhi has taken charge as President of the Congress Party. It had been expected since he joined active Congress party politics. Congress Party is a grand old party of 132 years and Rahul is the sixth party President from Nehru-Gandhi family. Undoubtedly, Congress has been the premier political party of the nation for more than 60 years. It has also led the freedom struggle from the front. Most of Congress leaders sacrificed everything for the freedom of the nation. Nehru-Gandhi family's sacrifice for the nation is immeasurable. India's first Prime Minister late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru under the leadership of the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi fought for the freedom of the country from the front. Nehru spent most of his youthful years behind the prison for the Independence of the country. His role in throwing out British imperialism is immortal. When India got freedom in 1947 on August 15, Mahatma Gandhi handed over the responsibility of the country to Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru to run its administration. Mahatma Gandhi said,"The nation is safe in the hands of Nehru." Pandit Nehru was elected the first Prime Minister of the country. Not only Nehru his daughter late Indira Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi also became Prime Ministers of the nation. These were the days when Congress was the main and the strongest political party in the country. After Indira and Rajiv, Sonia Gandhi took charge of the party. Sonia had also played a pivotal role in bringing the Congress back to power for 10 years when it won Lok Sabha elections in 2004 under her leadership. But after the worst-ever defeat of the Congress Party in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, it has become weaker and weaker. It is presently passing through its worst days. It gets one defeat after another. It is losing one state after another. Congress party's organizational set up is in disarray all over the country. It is gasping for breath. The most challenging task before Rahul Gandhi is to revive the Congress party units from state capital to the village level. The ruling BJP is its formidable rival under the charismatic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. BJP under PM Modi’s leadership is in its heydays. So, becoming President of the Congress party at this juncture when it is passing through its worst-ever days, it is the toughest task before Rahul Gandhi to infuse confidence in the party cadre to fight BJP in the Lok Sabha elections 2019. The first and foremost task before him after taking full charge of the Congress Party is to instill life in the party units in the Hindi heartland states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. These two are the biggest states and politically most important ones. In these two states, Congress organization units at all levels appear to be dead. And Until and unless the party is revived in these two states, it cannot get power at the Centre. Rahul Gandhi succeeds Sonia Gandhi, who led the party for the last 19 years. Rahul Gandhi entered electoral politics in 2004. He was appointed as the party general secretary in 2007 and was elevated as its vice president in January 2013.

Friday, December 15, 2017

EC must preserve its sanctity and respect

Election Commission of India is one of the highest constitutional bodies of the nation. It must be respected by all political parties. It is also EC's responsibility to conduct free and fair elections. It has played a great role in strengthening the democracy. India is the largest democracy in the world. It is not easy to conduct elections so peacefully and freely, considering the length and breadth of the country. But since its formation, it has been doing a commendable job. Election Commission is also an independent body. So, it has rarely been seen that any government had ever exerted influence on it or had it been influenced at any point of time. It is the constitutional responsibility of the EC to enforce Model Code of Conduct once it declared the date of elections. The Model Code of Conduct is applied to all political parties and their leaders whether it matters little that the certain leader of the certain political party is PM or Opposition leader. Whether it is PM or opposition leader, the EC has to act without any bias, prejudice or favour. Achal Kumar Jyoti is the Chief Election Commissioner of India. He is an IAS officer and belongs to Gujarat cadre. Gujarat is the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. When Narendra Modi was Chief Minister of Gujarat, Jyoti was his Chief Secretary. After Modi became PM, he was appointed as the CEC of India. In the given position, there has arisen an unsavoury incident of violating the code of conduct by Congress President-elect Rahul Gandhi, who gave the interview to the Gujarat-based 5 to 6 news channels in the evening of the day the electioneering had ended. The Election Commission on Wednesday issued the notice to Congress him asking why action should not be taken against him for violating the Representation of the People Act, hours after several TV channels aired his interview on Gujarat polls. EC’s one-sided action may be termed as its double standard. Taking action on a complaint from the BJP’s Gujarat unit, the Commission instructed Mr. Gandhi to furnish his response by 5 p.m. on December 18. The notice was issued for “prima facie” violation of Section 126(1) (b) of the Act. .The Congress, in turn, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of misusing the FICCI platform. Rahul Gandhi along with the news channels were charged with violating the Model Code of conduct. Congress President-elect Rahul Gandhi was served with Show cause notice and FIR was reportedly lodged against the TV news Channels, which aired his interview. Whereas this type of the violation of the code of conduct was reportedly committed by none other than the PM of the country but Election Commission kept mum. This clearly shows EC’s bias against the Opposition leader and favour for the ruling dispensation. Election Commission must keep itself above any sort of bias. It is an apolitical body. It has nothing to do with politics of the nation. Chief Election Commissioner Achal Kumar Jyoti should know very well that his predecessors have been T N Seshan, S Y Quraishi, MS Gill and others. They have set standard parameter how EC should conduct free and fair elections in the country. Undoubtedly, Election Commission has won worldwide applause for conducting free, fair and peaceful elections. No fingers have ever been raised at its fairness. This must be maintained at all costs.

Saturday, December 9, 2017

Delhi Govt’s courageous action

By cancelling the licence of Shalimar Bagh Max Hospital, the Delhi Government led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has shown courage to act against its criminal negligence. How negligent and careless the doctor was that he declared a baby dead when he or she was alive. It is a matter of investigation. Why the hospital management employs such negligent and careless doctors. Or, Are they under some much pressure from the management that they failed to act sensibly? Declaring the baby dead when he or she was alive by the doctor is nothing but the criminal negligence. Undoubtedly, the doctors work under severe pressure in big private hospitals. But it does not give them the freedom to be lax and careless while giving treatment to the patients. Doctors are entrusted with the task of saving the lives of the patients. The first and foremost duty of the doctors is to treat the patients with utmost seriousness. Private hospitals and schools avail all govt. helps and facility on the priority basis. But in spite of providing service to the people, they become the centres of fleecing money from them in the name of treatment and teaching. Before declaring the child dead, the doctors should have checked him or her very properly. If they had done so, this unfortunate incident would not have happened. In the recent past a big private hospital named Fortis hospital in Guroan failed to save the girl suffering from Dengue fever, but charged Rs. 26 lakh from her parents. She was in hospital for 15 days only. The apathy in the treatment of the patient by the doctors at private or govt. hospitals must not be tolerated. Doctors are considered to the next to God as they save patients from the throes of death. But when they are found to be negligent, careless and lax, they must be awarded deterrent punishment. Delhi government has rightly warned other hospitals against medical negligence. It is a very bold step taken by the AAP govt. of Delhi. It will send the message out that no nonsense will be tolerated by the govt. The other private and govt. hospitals now will be cautious and serious in providing treatment to the patients. As far as the position of doctors, patients, and staff at the Shalimar Bagh Max Hospital is concerned, it is for the management to make alternative arrangement for them. There is a chain of Max Hospital in the city. Max management can adjust them anywhere in its hospital. It is right that the Delhi government came down heavily on the hospital where a premature baby was wrongly declared dead last week. The baby died on Thursday at a nursing home in Pitampura after battling for life for nearly a week. A panel has been formed by the Delhi government to look into the case found the hospital administration guilty of not following prescribed medical norms in dealing with newborn infants. It is of the urgent need for the govt. to create a mechanism to deter the erring private hospitals and schools from doing wrong. They are in wrong notion that their only business is to fleece money from the public without any accountability. Delhi govt. has taken a bold, courageous and commendable action by cancelling the licence of the Shalimar Bagh Max Hospital for declaring a baby dead wrongly.