Politics of vindictiveness

The UPA Government shocked by the series of Scams in its second term is acting totally confused and directionless. Instead of taking effective steps to route out its short comings, it has embarked upon a programme of retaliatory salvos against its opponents. When Anna Hazare and Baba Ram Dev started a campaign against corruption, it steam rolled the audience of Baba Ram Dev and initiated criminal proceedings against his aide Balkrishen. Congess spokesperson Manish Tewari accused Anna Hazare smeared in corruption from head to heel and apologized later. Digvijay Singh continues with his vicious salvos against Anna.

The BJP MPs who had exposed the cash for votes scam have been put in jail with criminal charges. Now the team members of Anna are being accused of corrupt practices. This politics of vindictiveness will not do any good to the Congress party or the Government as public can see through these machanisations. It will be better for them to devote themselves for eradication of the scourage of corruption.

Afghanistan will defend Pakistan- Biggest Joke of the Year

The statement of Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai that Afghanistan will support Pakistan if attacked by America or India has comic overtones. Afghanistan itself is completely ravaged and devastated by militants which are not only supported but directly sponsored by Pak establishment. President Karzai has accused Pakistan's ISI on numerous occasions. More interestingly, it is American and Nato forces which are defending Afghanistan from the rogue militant groups. Afghanistan should, therefore, defend itself and become stable before helping Pakistan. To club India in his statement will antagonize Indian population which has given billions of Rupees in aid to Afghans to firm up its economy. Neither America nor India is interested in attacking Pakistan as there is nothing to gain from this action. President Karzai should not have made this irresponsible statement making himself a laughing stock.

Anna's crusade against corruption is apolitical

It is unfortunate that some of the Media barons are making imaginary assessments of Anna's Team instead of objective analysis of the Anna's crusade against corruption.Anna's core issue right from the beginning has been introduction of a strong Lokpal Bill for which he and his team had held prolonged meetings with the Government's team of Ministers. You would recall that almost after every meeting the Ministers went back on the decisions arrived at. This forced Anna to call the Ministers and Government unreliable and he was forced to undertake the fast. When the Government realised the sensitivity of the issue and the mass public support against corruption, it agreed to introduce Lokpal Bill which it had avoided for more than 40 years.

2. Civil Society had declared its movement apolitical which they still uphold. The move against Congress in Hissar elections was precipitated by Congress Party's lack of assurance to support Janlokpal Bill whereas all other contesting parties had given the undertaking to support. So the action of Civil Society in campaigning against Congress does not make them political.In fact the UPA Government has lost its credibility by its unusual Behaviour where Prime Minister says something and Digvijay Singh says some thing different. The resignation of two members of Anna team cannot crack his mission. As regards attacks on Prashant Bhushan and Arvind Kejriwal, these are a part of well designed conspiracy by the corrupt opposing forces to deflate the movement. The Media's efforts to divide the Anna Team and mislead the public is a sort of paid news and will not succees.

Misplaced Confidence

The virus of CWG scam does not appear to heal the Government as it is erupting and affecting its members every day in new forms. The current controversy about P.Chidambaram has put the Government and Congress party on a flat mat and the opposition on offensive. Surprisingly, there is division among the different Ministers on the issue who have come out in the open. Apart from the current issue, the open wars of words between Jairam Ramesh, Manishankar Iyer and Ajay Maken was not a pleasant sight for the people watch. One can understand the grievances of coalition partners like DMK against the majority ruling party, the open fights of the same party's members throwing mud balls at each other cannot be justified.

2. In that context the statement of Prime Minister that "I will continue to defend my Ministers and that I will continue to enjoy the confidence of my Ministers" is far from realty and sounds hollow. He had reposed the same faith in A.Raja and Dayanidhi Maran and continued to defend them till Raja entered Tihar Jail and Maran is now facing CBI investigation. As regards enjoying the confidence of Ministers, it can be said that the Ministers are confident that whatever they do, right or wrong, Prime Minister will do nothing. Only Courts will act, if necessary.

Who is Poor?

Our Government is relentlessly laughing at the cost of Aam Aadmi by taking anti-people decisions and making provocative statements. They have come into power by making dreamlike promises and are now treating them with scorn. The country specially the common man is reeling under extreme pressures of inflation and sky rocketing prices of food and essential commodities and struggling to survive. In this scenario, the Affidavit of the Govt. In Supreme Court that a person who spends Rs.32/- per day is above poverty line is a biggest joke which can hardly be tolerated. In other words, if a man spends Rs.32/- per day on his food, clothing,rental, travel, medical treatment etc. Etc. Is above poverty line. It is an admission of the fact that there are a vast majority who are not able to spend even this much for their survival.

2. It is most disappointing to find this statement has been approved by the so called Economists of international repute who have ruined the economy of this country by their misdirected vision. No one need to work or propogate against this Govt. as they are themselves destroying their credibility by such unpopular actions.

Unfaithful & Scheming

"The intolerant Morarji Desai" by K.Natwar Singh (Mail Today dated 25 th September) is one of the most irreverent piece against a deceased Gandhian Prime Minister who was known for his strict discipline both in personal and public life. No doubt that he was very dogmatic in his beliefs and principles which were not popular amongst the flexible and luxurious bureaucracy but he was the least vindictive as projected by Natwar Singh in his article. Morarji Bhai was an icon of simplicity,devotion to duty and true nationalism who did not tolerate flattery and incompetency. Naturally, he was not popular with flatterers and schemers who wanted to gain favours through these means and not through merit or performance.

2. K.Natwar Singh who joined Foreign Service not through any competitive examination or merit but because of his royal connections and tried to improve his carrier through contacts and connections cannot be blamed as he was trained like this.All his articles that appear in your publication are full of self adulation and critical of his superiors in service which is against the ethics of any service discipline. Khushwant Singh and his other colleagues who had the opportunity to work with him can better describe him. In any case, he had no business to denigrate Morarji Desai, a pillar of freedom fight and free India. I would avoid mentioning about the circumstances leading to his ouster from the Union Government and congress party.

Prime Ministerial Candidates

The lok Sabha Elections are due in 2014 more than two years away and it is next to impossible to predict the mood of electorate at that point of time. But the pseudo speculators as well as Media have unilaterally decided to project Narender Modi and Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial Candidates. It is further more interesting that neither the BJP nor the Congress Party have made any official endorsements to this effect. These are mature reactions of the national political parties. The need of the hour is to tackle the serious problems of inflation, decline in industrial growth besides terrorism. Political parties have every right to project their agendas and expose the shortfalls in governance to keep the system vigilant but at the same time they should not ignore the national priorities. The projection of Prime Ministerial candidates should be shelved for the time being as people want immediate relief from the mounting inflation and prices of essential food items.

Do Not Divide the Nation on Communal basis

It is extremely embarrassing to find the manner in which UPA Government is functioning in a confused manner in all spheres of governance. An addition to their confused state of mind is the proposed Prevention of Communal Violence Bill which has drawn adverse reactions not only from the major Opposition party but more importantly its political allies like Trinamool Congress. It displays the disarray in the ruling party where its different sections are pulling in different directions. This process is in continuation of the proposed Lokpal Bill where the major political parties were ignored while discussing with the Citizen Group. Even now the major political parties and the State Governments who are mainly concerned with the law and order were side stepped. It was therefore natural to rebound. Moreover, this legislation which has been contrived in a shoddy manner with elections in mind is ill timed and unnecessary. As has been objected by many political groups and State Governments, it will create more communal divides than bridge it. By and large there is no communal divide in the country at present as with the passage of time people have learnt to live in peace with each other. The classic examples are the harmony in Gujarat, Muslims building temples and Hindus building Mosques, Muslims participating in Ganesh Pujas and Hindus celebrating Eid and Christmas etc. Do we need a divisive legislation now?

Practical way to tackle the corrupt

Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of Bihar has set a practical and effective example to confiscate the property of an alleged corrupt I.A.S. Officer and converting the same to a School for poor children. The enactment of an Act and to implement the same in right earnest are two different things. Nitish Kumar has achieved both the targets for which he deserves gratitude of the nation. He has shown the way which should be followed by all States in the country as well as Centre. If this campaign is continued without interruptions, we will get rid of the scourge by more than 70 percent. With due respect to Civil Society's campaign against corruption, it may be stated that mere enactment of Lokpal Bill will not solve the problem as bureaucratic rules and procedures to dual with corrupt will only delay the process of conviction etc. The pattern of Bihar will be an effective deterrent tool and deserves support of general public and Government.

A single man brought the Govt. on its knees

The debate in the Lok Sabha on Anna Hazare's Lokpal Bill saw many interesting features and and points of view projected by the Members. Hon. Pranab Mukerjee who is a seasoned parliamentarian and trouble shooter gave a poor reflection of himself when he echoed the words of Rahul Gandhi that " A single , however strong and empowered it may be cannot eradicate corruption" On the contrary he had seen the extra-ordinary strength of a powerless single individual who brought the powerful Government to its knees for his honest and just demand. Pranab DA should have quoted him rather than Rahul who is no match to his knowledge, experience and wisdom. The mere fact that a coterie of dynastic supporters are projecting Rahul Gandhi as the future Prime Minister does not in any way mitigates the popular aspirations of the people to see him on the Prime Minister's seat.

A Historic Non-violent Movement

It is for the first time in the history of independent India that a mass movement on an unprecedented scale against corruption was conducted by a social worker Anna Hazare throughout the country in a non-violent Gandhian style. Not a single case of violence was reported from any part of the country where large scale demonstrations were held and participated by young and old persons voluntarily. The other remarkable feature of this public crusade was apolitical nature. In fact the politicians who wanted to take advantage of the situation were kept at bay and in some cases shooed away. The result of this agitation is for every body to see that public might is greater than the power of politics. This has set an example to emulate before the world that people can bend the mightiest force without violent means.

2. The Government has agreed in principle to consider the suggestions made for the institution of Lokpal which will undergo procedural scrutiny within the framework of democratic constitution of the country. There are expressions of doubts and apprehensions in some quarters whether such procedural dilatory tactics will allow the Bill to emerge for enactment has happened in previous 9 attempts. It should, however, be clear to the legislatures that times have changed and people are now determined to seek effective measures against the cancer of corruption.







    

Breach of Trust

The entire nation has been virtually at standstill for the last two weeks following the spat between team Anna Hazare and the Government on the question of Jan Lokkpal Bill to combat the menace of corruption in the country. The entire nation has been backing this movement irrespective of their political affiliation, caste or creed because all are victims of this scourge in their day to day life. Since 16th August when Anna underwent fast there have been series of parleys between the Anna's team and the government emissaries about the fine prints of the proposed Bill as Government publicly accepted all the suggestions made by Anna Hazare about the contents and the structure of Lokpal. Even the Prime Minister conceded in Lok Sabha about the need for a strong and effective institution in this regard and assured about the introduction of Jan Lok pal Bill in the current session of Parliament.

2. Strangely, when the entire nation was anxiously awaiting the introduction of the proposed Bill and breaking the fast by Anna Hazare, Rahul Gandhi made a complete somersault in his speech in Parliament which obviously had the approval of the Government and Congress party. This action has completely shattered the hopes of people and lowered the image and credibility of the Government. Why Rahul Gandhi was in a silent mode when the establishment was daily engaged in discussions on the issue. The suggestion for a statutory body could have been made right in the beginning and ground work started or it could follow after the present problem had been solved. It is a belated and unwise attempt which will not go down well.

Let us not play politics with Sports

It is but natural that when a country's sports team is defeated in an international match there is a cause for disappointment and some times anger. The same is true for our team's performance in England. It is,however, unfortunate that we have started taking Cricket game as a business or a battle squad rather than as a sport. In every game one side wins and the other looses. The euphoria generated following the performance in U.K. is unwanted and unfair. It was the same team that had won the World Cup a few months ago creating a history of sorts in Cricket world . The entire nations celebrated the event in an unprecedented scale. One should not expect the same results in the game every time and we should shun jingoism from sports. It is for the sportsmen and concerned authorities to go into the causes for winning and losing. The public should enjoy the games and not demoralise the players.

Corruption & Politics

The civil society's project which began on a limited issue of drafting a Bill for setting an institution to contain all pervasive corruption in the country has assumed diverse dimensions. Neither the Government nor the Civil rights activist had in their wildest dreams imagined that it will assume the form of an unprecedented mass national movement. It is indicative of the extent of public anguish and frustration with the prevailing corruption in the country. People of all walks of life rich, poor,workers,professionals ,politicians of all hues and intellectuals have come out voluntarily to support the cause. Most of the people have little concern or knowledge about the drafts for Lokpal bills proposed by Anna Hazare or Government but they want corruption to be wiped out. That is the crux of the matter for the public at large and they want early solutions.

2. When this mass movement is at its zenith and hopefully some concrete measures are likely to emerge, political parties are flexing their muscles to weaken it by adopting divisive strategies. Udit Narayan is bringing in Cast politics on the grounds that Scheduled Caste groups were not associated while drafting the proposed Bill. One may ask the ask the question whether scheduled caste people are not affected by the prevailing corruption. Similarly, Zafar Jilani is giving a divisive communal colour to the agitation by objecting to slogans "Bharat Mata-ki-Jai" and national anthem "Bande Matram". This anti national stance is condemnable in secular India. Tomorrow some unsound fanatic will object to "Allah-h0-Akbar". Let us keep this movement apolitical, secular and meaningful.

A confused Govt. & determined Anna Hazare

The flip flop actions and provocative statements made by the members of UPA Government and spokes persons of the ruling party while dealing with Anna Hazare has not only lowered its image world wide but also lost the confidence of masses in the country. The surge of public sentiment against the Government and in favour of Anna movement has largely been contributed by the Government itself. First the Government gave a VIP treatment to the members of Civil Society and spent a number of days in confabulations for drafting the proposed Lokpal Bill and when there were differences of opinion, they began a tirade of personal invectives and uncivilised mouthfuls against Anna and his team members. At that time they did not consider is necessary to involve the opposition in the drafting of the proposed Bill which is a democratic process.

2. Now they are in a reverse gear mode. Anna was corrupt yesterday and he is Gandhian today. He was arrested in the morning and released in the evening. A number of conditions were imposed upon him for holding his rally which have now been withdrawn. This indicates the indecisiveness and nervousness in the Government which appears to have lost the right to rule. The spontaneous mass upsurge of population in favour of Anna is a reminder of JP movement of 1977 which galvanised the people against misrule of Indira Gandhi. Are we heading in the same directions? It is also pertinent to point out that majority of the people who have joined this agitation do not know about Lokpal Bill. They consider it to be a movement against prevailing corruption at all levels in the country by which every citizen is adversely affected in his day to day life. The claim of Government that Lokpal will not be able to end corruption is an honest statement. How can you route out the wild hedges that you have been irrigating for the past 64 years.

Riots in U.K. more an economic issue than a Law & Order situation

There is criticism in U.K. about the soft approach of the authorities in dealing with the rioters in London and else where.No doubt It is the duty of the Government to maintain law and order and to punish the guilty.However,no amount of state force can control the underlying and simmering discontent of a deprived society for long although it may temporarily appear to have curbed it. The main cause of this sudden outburst leading to looting and arson is the huge economic disparities between the haves and have nots. Unfortunately, the gap is growing at enormous pace in all the free economies of the world and India is no exception.

2. We have to view this situation from national perspective and take urgent steps to review the required social and economic steps. In fact we are already facing this situation in the Mao infested States where we have not been able to nip this menace through the use of force. The spate of criminal activities in the form of kidnappings for ransom, extortions and robberies etc. are indicators of economic mis-match between the rich and poor. To add fuel to the fire the ever soaring inflation and high cost of essential food articles is contributing to the social divide.

Afzal Guru deserves quick hanging- Not publicity

The publicity being given to the Ministry of Home's recommendation on Afzal Guru's mercy petition both by print and electronic media is uncalled for and detrimental to the judicial process. It had already assumed political connotations and a shuttle cock match between the Government and Opposition and had been lingering for years. Are we trying to make hero of a criminal who has been sentenced to death by the due process of law of a democratic country? The separatists and terrorist organisations in J&K have openly challenged the judgement and decisions on mercy petition and are threatening to disturb peace and tranquility in the State. These anti national people cannot be allowed to challenge our democratic institutions and procedures. Will they also behave in the same manner in the case of Kasab who has also been sentenced to death for similar offence? They should be made to imagine the type of fate these terrorists would have met in the countries who follow the Sharia laws. In any case the Media should exercise restraint in this case as they do so for many condemned convicts.

Select the right persons in political set ups

The sordid drama enacted by disgraced B S Yeddyurappa the out going Chief Minister of Karnatak following his indictment by Lokayukta for corruption and land grabbing is a matter of concern for all political parties in the country. Despite directives from his Party High Command to step away from Office, he has been trying all tricks like astrology, majority support cast considerations and unreasonable conditions to cling to power either in the party or in government. It indicates the levels to which the politicians can stoop low in their greed for power and money. BJP has taken the right decision to reject all his frivolous conditions to save its image in the public eye. It also realises that the allegations against Yeddyurappa will ultimately find place in public prosecution and it will greatly undermine the image of the party.

2. This is not the only case of its kind that has happened in the country where a Chief Minister has defied the orders of its party high command when asked to relinquish office on charges of corruption or misgovernment. Political parties of all hues in the country have faced almost similar situations. One of the reason for this malady is the wrong choice of the leader who secure their nomination on the basis of money power. This all around corruption leads to chain reactions of corrupt practices by those who crown themselves through corruption. All political parties should conduct introspection and make proper selection of candidates to save the democratic norms.

Scam a Day

Our country has assumed the reputation of "Scam a Day" country.. Hardly a day passes when we do not learn about one Scam or the other in the print and visual media. The latest revelations about mining scam involving the Chief Minister , his colleagues and a former Chief Minister in the sordid corruption saga should make all the political parties hang their heads in shame as they are sullying the name of the largest democracy in the world by including the known corrupt persons in the States and Centre Governments. This is not the type of democracy people want where a common man rots in jail for years for a minor offence but the Scamsters accused of defrauding the nation for millions/trillions of rupees come out unscathed. The investigating agencies are threatened by the powerful offenders as the Lokayukat of Karnataka is being harassed through phone tapings etc. In the face of all these one wonders what will be achieved by having a Lok Pal who will face the same type of problems.

2. It is time now that the nation should unite to route out this menace by evolving a mechanism through all party meeting and to bring suitable amendments in the electoral laws where the tainted and accused persons holding public Offices are immediately unseated and dealt with sternly and immediately.

Look After yourself- Hillary Clinton

The present visit of Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State to India has been a non-event as it has belied all expectations both political as well as economic. Although the Government of India was under illusions of securing support particularly in taming Pakistan and its terrorism workshops, Hillarly was blunt in conveying that it is your problem and you are supposed to look after it. She also did not mince words saying that Pakistan is a greater victim of terrorism. In other words. India should only expect statements of condemnations whenever any terror activity takes place on its soil. Thi position was clear from day one Barack Obama took over as President of USA. We should not forget the treatment meted out to our investigated team in the case of David Headly, a major player in Mumbai'26/11 carnage.

2. The present visit has solely been motivated by promotion of unilateral trade involving U.S. Interests and not bilateral trade. They have also cheated us in the case of Nuclear Civil Treaty and want to water down the proposed Nuclear Liability Bill to suit the interests of American suppliers of equipments. Should we not take adequate measures to keep a distance from such a unreliable and undependable so called ally?