Friday, March 30, 2018

Total failure of CBSE and HRD ministry

The future of about 28 lakh students depends on the functioning of Central Board of Education (CBSE) as it conducts their 10th and 12th class examinations. Students put in hard labour into their preparation for the examination. But the board which conducts it behaves and functions so irresponsibly that the education mafia gangs get the question paper leaked. What were CBSE, HRD Ministry and the Govt. of India doing when the issue of examination involved the future of about 28 lakh students? When sordid incident of question paper leaks was in the knowledge of CBSE one day before the examination itself, why did it not act then and there? Is there a government in place in the country or not? HRD Minister Praksh Javedkar has completely failed to act in time. He must take moral responsibility and resign from the post immediately. On the one hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gives tips to the students how to cope with examination tension through his book Examination Warrior and his HRD Ministry and CBSE act in such a way as to create tension for them on the other. CBSE is considered to be one of the most prestigious examination boards in the country. But it is perhaps for the first time in recent years that the CBSE 10th class Mathematics paper questions and 12th class economics paper questions were leaked despite the claim of full proof security. After the admission of question leaks of 10th Class Mathematics and 12th Class economics by the CBSE, it has cancelled the examinations of these two papers. CBSE question leaks reflect that education mafia is active and the CBSE Board and HRD Ministry are inactive. The students are traumatized, dejected and depressed for no fault of theirs. The number of students appearing at the CBSE board examinations of class 10th and 12th together is more than 25 lakhs. It means the cancellation of examinations by CBSE causes the adverse impact on their future. If the question leaks and other malpractices in the examination are not stopped immediately, the future of the country will be destroyed. The incident of CBSE question leaks has happened despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi had himself given tips in detail how to face the examination without any tension to the boys and girls of class 10th and 12th only last month. Though he has taken the issue of CBSE question paper leaks very seriously and instructed the Union Human Resources Minister to act immediately to plug all loopholes, the loss of confidence and precious time of students has already been inflicted. HRD ministry and CBSE must ensure that there would be no question paper leak in future to restore the confidence of crores of students in the examination system. Otherwise, the future is doomed to fail.

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Data leak is an attack on privacy

The allegation of Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad against Congress that it is going to take the help of the tainted Consultancy firm named Cambridge Analytica in terms of data to win elections in 2019 sounds ridiculous. Cambridge Analytica has also alleged to have helped US President Donald Trump win the elections by influencing the voters in his party's favour through the personal data manipulation of the people. It is alleged that it has already influenced election from the US to Syria. Cambridge Analytica has reportedly taken data from FaceBook. Leaking data to Cambridge analytica as alleged to have been done by Facebook is nothing but make it public. It is an attack on the privacy of the people in India in connivance with the FB. FB has the largest number of users in India. It may be possible that after going into the profile of the people on FaceBook, Cambridge Analytica may have known about their interest, taste and political choices and after that, it may have tried to influence them by repeatedly showing their likening. It is an attempt to subvert democracy by the political parties in India only to win elections. It must stop forthwith. But the list of Analytica clients which has appeared in different newspapers clearly shows that BJP, JD(U) and Congress were among its clients. It has also been alleged that BJP had asked Cambridge Analytica to work for it to achieve the majority mark of 272 members in Lok Sabha in 2014 elections. Congress has also alleged that JD (U) had taken help from this tainted organization to win Bihar Assembly elections in 2010. Congress also alleged that BJP had engaged Cambridge Analytica to win elections while BJP alleges that Congress does this. The allegation and counter-allegation make no meaning. The allegation of the senior BJP leader and Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also lacks credibility in view of his own party’s record. His allegation against Congress is based on newspaper reports and he has failed to corroborate his evidence with solid proof. So, it lacks credibility. Taking help from the foreign data company to subvert democracy by any political party is not only a serious crime but also an anti-national act. This must be investigated thoroughly. FaceBook must also be asked to protect the data of all Indians. Otherwise, the Govt. of the day would not hesitate in taking action against it. The millions of innocent facebook users remain oblivious to the fact their data is used to benefit the political party in the time of elections. It is nothing but an act of subverting democracy. Election Commission also must act against the outsiders who try to exert their influence on the electoral process in the country. The fallout of the Facebook data leak expose and its misuse by an election consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica in the 2016 US Presidential elections allegedly in the favour of Donald Trump has reached Indian shores. The day saw the BJP accuse the Congress of having ties with Cambridge Analytica while the Congress did its own finger pointing back at the BJP. Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg has rightly been put on notice by the govt. if the personal data of over 200 million Indian Facebook users has been similarly misused.

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Let Parliament run in people's interest

Stalling Parliament has become a fashion among politicians of both ruling and opposition parties. The fracas between the MPs' of two sides over the issues with which the common people have nothing to do with cause the loss of precious time of Parliament. Crores of rupees are spent on the running of the Parliament for a day. Stalling Parliament is also not a new development. It has been going on for more than 20 years on regular basis. It is frequently stalled. It shows the degeneration in the behavior of our politicians irrespective of their affiliation with the party. Both the ruling and the opposition behave in the same way when the question of creating bedlam in Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha arises. It is nothing but the mockery of democracy. Parliament is the highest platform in democracy. By stopping it from transacting its business, the highest democratic institution is weakened. Today Congress is in Opposition and the BJP is in power. But there has been no change in their goal post. Congress is doing the same as the BJP did while it was in opposition. Both have a responsibility to run the Parliament. Undoubtedly, the treasury bench has greater responsibility to run Parliament. After the Parliament reopened on March 5, 2018, not even a single day it has transacted its business smoothly. Even the Finance Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha without debate and discussion on the basis of the brute majority of the BJP-led NDA Govt. at the Centre. Parliamentary democracy in the country has come under the threat. The trend that emerges in Parliament is that both the ruling and opposition parties vied for scoring political points over the rival political class. Neither the ruling nor the opposition MPs ever tried to run the Parliament. Parliament is the centre of discussing people's problems by their representatives there. But in reality, their representatives in assembly and Parliament are only interested in catching the cameras of Television crew. They have no concern for the problem of the people in their constituencies. It is now 15 days that Parliament has not transacted any business in the real sense of the term. Belittling the importance of Parliament, even the Narendra Modi govt. got the Finance Bill passed on the basis of its brute majority in the Lower House. It is perhaps for the first time in India's parliamentary democracy that Finance Bill was passed without any debate and discussion. It has also been experienced in the last few years that Parliament, which is the biggest platform of resolving people's problem in democracy, is used for personal and political aggrandizement. Both the ruling and the Opposition are equally responsible for this sorry state of affairs. As the political scenario of the ruling BJP at the Centre is not very good, its own ally TDP of Andhra Pradesh quit NDA and initiated Motion of Confidence against Narendra Modi govt. TDP quit NDA because of the denial of Special category status to Andhra Pradesh and the other one which is one of its oldest allies Shiv Sena has announced that it would fight Lok Sabha elections on its own. So everything is not well about the ruling BJP. The common people of India are nothing to do with Congress and BJP. They only want Parliament to run smoothly.

Friday, March 16, 2018

Delhi CM Kejriwal surrenders meekly

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal has meekly surrendered to former Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia because of his unfounded allegation against him. Kejriwal had alleged that Majithia was involved in Drug trafficking, which he has realized now that it was unfounded. That is why Delhi CM tendered an apology to him. The Delhi Chief Minister had settled the defamation case filed against him by the former Punjab revenue minister and said that he has learnt that the drug trade allegations were unfounded. Kejri said it was a political statement that he alleged Majithia was involved in drug trading. It was election time statement and it must not be taken so much seriously. In reaction to Kejriwal's unsought apology, AAP Punjab unit President and MP Bhagwat Mann has already resigned from his post. He said that Kejriwal did not discuss the issue of apology with any party functionary of the state. His "meek surrender" had drawn flak from AAP's Punjab unit leaders who termed Kejriwal's step a "letdown". Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly and senior AAP leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira said he was appalled by the apology. The realization of talking too much appears to have dawned on Kejriwal that led him to tender an apology to Bikram Singh Majithis. But it would have suited his political stature if he had leveled allegation with any authenticity. Kejriwal is not a layman. He is the CM of Delhi. He must issue statement responsibly. Politics is not a child's play that it is played by whim. It is a serious field of activities so every politician must think twice before opening his or her mouth against a political rival. Kejri is habituated to talking tall but in the same way unable to collect evidence to corroborate his allegation. The defamation case was already slapped by Majithia against him. It appears that it is out of fear that Delhi CM apologized to Majithia. He feared that if the case continued, it might be possible that he would go to jail. It is also clear that Kejri speaks without a shred of truth in it. So, he apologized to Majithia in haste. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely has also filed a defamation case against Delhi CM Kejri in a Delhi court. It is expected that Kejriwal would tender apology also to him. Kejriwal may face a rebellion within his party over his tendering unsought apology. Kejri must think twice before leveling charges. By slapping unfounded charges, he has cut a sorry figure in Delhi among his supporters and sympathizers. Now, there is every possibility that Arvind Kejriwal would tender an apology for alleging him of corruption in DDCA. Kejri has the habit of talking too much. He is loquacious. He forgets about himself while making a statement before the people. Kejriwal now need not be introduced. Provide him a platform to speak, he would start blaming others for messing up everything. His main idea of politics is to defame one and all except himself. But now his idea is exposed before the people of the country.

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

By-poll results boost Oppn morale

The victory of the opposition combine of Akhilesh and Mayawati in Phulpur and Garakhpur LS by-polls of UP and of RJD in Araria of Bihar is a distressing signal for the ruling BJP at the Centre and BJP-JD(U) alliance govt. in Bihar. It is a wake-up call for the BJP. The Lok Sabha elections are going to be held next year itself. The polarization of Opposition parties against the ruling BJP, it is a warning for it. The ruling BJP at the Centre must realize that the people of the country are wise enough to feel the ground reality. The defeat of BJP's candidate from Gorakhpur Lok Sabha constituency, which the UP CM represented five times without any break, is a serious development for the party. Gorakhpur LS election was necessitated because of the election of Yogi Aditya Nath as Chief Minister of the state. He vacated the Gorakhpur and his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya vacated the Phulpur seat where the election was held. BJP lost both its LS seats. Gorakhpur was considered to be the strong bastion of BJP. Yogi Aditya Nath himself represented it in Lok Sabha for 5 consecutive times. It was a matter of prestige for the party. The ruling BJP could not keep its prestige intact. It also gives clear signal that if the opposition parties fought LS elections in 2019 unitedly against the BJP, it would be very difficult for it to retain power. SP and BSP showed its strength. It clearly reflected that the need of the hour for Opposition parties is to stand united. One thing also cannot be denied that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is still the most popular leader in the country. No opposition leader stands before him on his own. But one thing also must be clear for BJP that mere slogan cannot win elections for it every time. People want some work on the ground. The way the problem of unemployment got worsened in the last four years itself reflects the disillusionment among the youngsters with the govt. at the Centre. BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a galore of promises to the people during the last LS elections but didn't deliver on even a single one. BJP had promised to generate 2 Crore employment every year if voted to power. But the ground situation tells a completely different story. Bringing black money stashed in foreign banks and depositing Rs. 15 lakh with every bank account proved to be a mere a saying. What the BJP did is only taking forward the plans and policies formulated by the previous UPA govt. in the last four years. It only repackaged, renamed and reshaped them. There has nothing been done anything new by the NDA govt. in the last four years. The defeat of BJP in Phulpur, Gorakhpur and Araria Lok Sabha by-polls clearly shows that the people have no patience to wait for hearing another saying at the election time. So, the BJP must learn that the people cannot be taken for granted only because they voted it to power once. They know how to teach the ruling party a lesson in the election if it failed to deliver in the last five years.

Thursday, March 1, 2018

Act against corruption uniformly

The arrest of Kartik Chidambaram, son of the senior Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, for taking an alleged bribe of Rs. 3.1 Crore from INX media is good, but at the same time, other alleged economic offenders must also not be allowed to flee the country. A statement was given before the magistrate by INX media promoters Indrani and Peter Mukerjias about the alleged bribe to Kartik. Indrani and Peter also stated that the then finance minister P Chidambaram asked them to help his son. But the haste with which the CBI arrested Kartik on his landing at Chennai airport from London without establishing the charge smacks of political vtendetta or diversionary tactics of the government. It may be a govt. attempt to divert the attention of the people from the burning issues facing the country as alleged by the Congress party. Action must be taken against all those, who have committed corruption irrespective of their identities or affiliations. The action against corruption must be taken uniformly. The govt. must not apply pick and chose the method in taking action against corruption. Four to five alleged economic offenders defrauded crores of bank money and fled the country in the last 3 years and Narendra Modi govt. remained a mute spectator. It did nothing to stop them from fleeing the country. Govt. has done nothing against Vijay Mallaya, Lalit Modi, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, who are alleged economic offenders and evade the law of the land. All of them are the economic offenders who allegedly swindled crores of bank money and fled the country. The recent PNB scam in which the kingpins are Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi has stunned the nation. This is the biggest bank scam in the country. Govt., especially its finance ministry failed to act in time. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured the people of the country that he would act as the watchman of public property and not as PM if elected to power. But if the watchman stayed awake, the economic offenders would not have fled the country. Prime Minister Modi had also said that neither he would eat nor would allow anyone to eat ill-gotten money. But he has failed to keep the promises. So, it may be the move of the govt. to divert the attention of the people from the main issue of PNB scam. The impression has gone out that CBI has arrested Kartik to show the nation that now the action has begun against the corrupt. Parliament is to reconvene on March 5 after Budget recess. Opposition parties led by Congress were preparing to raise the PNB scam strongly. The timing of Kartik arrest may have been set to involve Congress in his defence of the corrupt act in Parliament to weaken its attack on the govt. Whether it is the leader of Congress, BJP or any other political party, he or she must be punished if found guilty of corruption. Corruption is like deadly disease Cancer. It spreads very fast. It is not correct to say all political leaders are corrupt. Some in every party are men of character and integrity. So, only those who are found guilty of corruption irrespective of their affiliation, identity and status must be punished. The govt. action must not reflect any bias. There must not be any discrimination in dealing with corruption cases.