EDITORIAL
Friends
The month began with Lokpal Bill and Baba Ramdev hogging the media limelight. In fact more than Lokpal Bill, the government appeared more worried about the Ramdev factor. That was how four ministers had gone to receive him or meet him at the airport itself. It was an unprecedented move. This importance that the UPA government at Delhi gave to Baba Ramdev was the one that led to all problems. Baba thought he can play difficult. As events unfolded, the fast that Baba Ramdev undertook ended in a fiasco he will never be able to repeat. Of course the share of the blame has to be shared equally by both sides. Yes the whole of India is privy to what happened from 2nd June to midnight of 5th June. Both sides exposed themselves to a complete lack of pragmatism.
To begin with, the threat of fast by Baba Ramdev itself was wrong. Black money as an issue, it was, it is, and it will continue to be in the public domain for a long time. It is also very much true that this government led by Congress is not very keen to act fast and decisively. They have been making some right noises at different times. But they were only noises without any seriousness to follow it up. We all know Hassan Ali case. It has been there for many years in the public domain. Pranab Mukherjee even included the I.T. dues from him, of Rs: 100,000 crores, in 2009/10 budget. But why no action followed until skeleton started falling from the cupboard? Pranab Mukherjee is the senior most politician in the present dispensation. He served Indira Gandhi, he served Rajeev Gandhi, he is serving now Manmohan Singh government. He is privy to everything and is the real stumbling block for any serious piece of action. He will continue to mouth inanities of legal hurdles and all that crap. So there has to be public pressure of serious nature. Baba Ramdev with his large following had the wherewithal to force the issue. But he bungled it royally. First of all he should not have gone on fast in such a teething hurry, just after Anna Hazare’s fast. He could have given the list of demand to the government and a time, of say 3 months, to comeback with their action plan. His problem was, if Anna Hazare, a penniless aged social worker, can force the issue and the media singing paeans about him, why not me, a jet set multi million $ worth yoga guru, still fairly young, with a huge fan club? So it was his ego that was his undoing and drove his movement to an abrupt end. Besides, the list of his demands was pretty long. His advisers failed him here too. It is a simple logic, if issues are many then focus is lost. He should have kept himself to his core issues of Black money, Land acquisition and better price for farmers. Surely even government of Manmohan Singh would have felt constrained to address them, for its sheer validity. Unfortunately both sides turned out clever by half, with police snooping on sleeping crowd in the midnight and Baba trying to escape in salwar kameez. In the event, BJP, the political adversary of the UPA can exploit the situation for their advantage. Of course BJP’s prime ministerial hopeful Sushma Swaraj reduced herself and the party to be laughed at by her dancing at Rajghat. It was a completely avoidable intelligence that went awry.
Yes the Lokpal Bill is continuing to experience serious delivery pangs with the possibility of an IUD (Intra Uterine Death). Both parties are sticking to their respective points of view. There appears to be an impasse. But the government side as usual do not want Prime Minister and higher Judiciary to be covered under Lokpal Bill, with their usual stand that they will be under pressure to discharge their duties freely. It is a plain hog wash. But may be this is one way, how to derail the Lokpal Bill and the Civil Society panel. It was for the first time that a panel was created from among the elected representatives and civil society members to discuss and draft a legislation. This initiative from Anna Hazare, Bhushan duo, Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi and Swami Agnivesh need too be commended. In the overall interest of the country, the political managers should seize the initiative to give to the nation a Bill that whole nation can feel comfortable with. If the idea of a Lokpal is the honest delivery of the national resources to all citizens pari passu, why should there be any problems? Only politicians know, what is good for the country? But they have taken 63 long years, and India, a Super Power in the making, is still groping in uncertain waters. Why? Why?
So, Mamata Banerjee, who engineered the biggest political upset and therefore a monumental change in the body politic of West Bengal, how is she settling down with her newest and the most challenging opportunity of her political life? Report in the print media has informed that she began with a bang. To begin with 10am-5pm culture, out of the window, for all ministers, Saturdays are working days. For first couple of days its past midnight at Writers Building. Yes you heard it right. She refused bullet proof car, declined the privilege of free passage, informed the police that she would stop her vehicle – a black Santro – like all else, at the signals. In fact she even walked the kilometer long route from Raj Bhavan to the Writers Building just to meet the-over 2 lakh-people assembled to see her after her historic win. Of course, she is in great hurry to reach out to her people to keep her promises. Chances of slipping is high. She is honest, sincere and committed and there is no doubt that she is pretty tall among the political dwarfs that are replete all around. Of course she has been more than civil to her opponents. But she needs to be equally pragmatic. Will she be? is a question only coming months shall answer. Yes the ordinance she tried to promulgate on Singur land has back-fired and she quickly backtracked. She can’t take away anything from the Assembly, what is due to it, whether she likes it or not. Coming to selection of ministers, despite her desire to keep it small, it became the biggest of all time with some 44 ministers, with some 10 of them being crorepatis. And her own worth, as per her nomination details, was a mere Rs: 4.73 lakhs, with no house and no car. She is-both seen and known to be-sparten, a model not many shall be able to emulate.
Nitish Kumar deserves to be congratulated for enacting Bihar Special Courts Act, 2009, which empowers the government to confiscate the property of corrupt public servants under the Prevention of Corruption Act. There is no such law anywhere in India, yet High Court in Patna upheld the validity of the law and Supreme Court refused to stay the operation of the law. What is debatable is the power, given to the authorised officer under the law, to confiscate the property, if he is convinced that the property was indeed acquired through ill gotten money. While it is true that the law gives the state, represented by the officer, sweeping powers to reduce the alleged accused into penury, the fact that both High Court as well as Supreme Court decided not to play the ball, has certainly strengthened the hands of Bihar government. Surely, before taking a stand, courts could have applied itself. Such a law was indeed needed to curb the proliferation of sleaze. Hope and wish, the law is not misused to check politically inconvenient opponents.
It was in Sept 2010, that the celluloid actor Salman Khan had mouthed inanities of over-smartness while giving his infamous interview to a Pak Channel. He had then, reportedly told the Channel that “Everyone and the world knows the truth that Pakistani government was not behind the Mumbai terror attack,” and added “It is also a fact that the terrorist strike took place because our Indian intelligence and security failed miserably”. Now is he going to eat his words or swallow it? The story of Dawood Gilani urf David Headley – a Pakistani - Muslim convert Christian – unfolded to the world via the Chicago Court, has unmistakably exposed the Pakistan’s sinister role in spreading mayhem in India. It was not just the complicity, it was the active participation that this David Headley spoke, which comprehensively exposed the lie, that this Islamic Republic of Pakistan was continuously indulging in, to harm India and Indians. And for this juvenile and uncalled for statement, whom was this Salman Khan trying to impress? Some of his friends & admirers in Pakistan? In the first place who is Salman Khan after all, to comment on such a serious issue as terrorist attack, what is his locus standi? He is only a film actor. Being an actor, he is nobody. He should keep his talents to gyrations and chasing girls in the cine films and deliver those dialogues which somebody else has written for him and his ilk. Giving opinions on issues like terrorism is simply not his cup of tea. And 26/11 wasn’t just a terror attack, it was a war on India.
That Pakistan’s ISI involvement was a forgone conclusion, was never in doubt. But for the home Minister and the Prime Minister to say only that “nothing new has come, we already know it” after the David Headley exposure in Chicago, was to be less than serious. They should have hyped the decibel to a much higher level to make the world sit up and take note. Is it another dimension of our being soft? At this point it is very pertinent to point out, that Al-Qaeda would have beheaded this Dawood Gilani when he became David Headley. But the truth is he became a Christian only to hide his identity to carry on his nefarious activities. For all you know, he could still be visiting Mosques on Fridays, if not all days.
Ayman Al-Zawahiri who took over the mantle of Al Qaeda, has vowed to continue jihad against America saying “Man who terrified America in his life will continue to terrify it after his death” is nothing new. Violence has been the core of Al Qaeda philosophy, and violence will only lead to violence and more violence. But how will this solve the problem between Al Qaeda and the rest of the world? This is a question neither Al Zawahiri or the U. S. would answer. It is true that in the past, U.S. has been the initiator of violence to force their point of view, but they do retrace their steps. It is possible for the civilized world to pressure the U.S. to fall in line, a semblance of democracy still exists. But with Al Qaeda’s secretive existence and equally secretive operation makes it an extremely difficult customer to handle. Should this Al Qaeda abjure violence and raise the peace banner, it can be 100% wagered to believe that U.S. under Barrack Obama shall be more than willing to talk and draw a road map for global peace and to address all problems affecting not just the Islam, or those Muslim countries, but the entire world. Isn’t this prospect worth dreaming? It is indeed eminently possible that such a scenario is not far fetched but within the realm of human endevour. As Obama had rightly observed long ago in his seminal writing “Audacity of Hope”, that we have more things that unite us than those that divide us. Yes, people like Al Zawahiri, who is a medical doctor, needs to think out of the box, to play his role as a responsible leader of a section of humanity for the larger good of the world in general and for the good of his own people in particular. Or else time will run out for him so also for those ideas for which he and his ilk live on.
Although most of the candidates selected from Rahul brigade of young and energetic couldn’t make it in the hustings, the case of P.K. Jayalaxmi, a 29 year old tribal deserves special mention. She is not only the youngest elected representative of Kerala, but also now made a minister. Being very young and tribal makes it special. Being a graduate in Communicative English, her job is cutout to take her Ministry for Welfare of Scheduled Tribes and Youth Affairs in Oomen Chandy ministry to a higher level. At least there will be one from Rahul’s selection, who will take the cause of women, places. She is from the tribe who are archers and is a state silver medalist in archery. She has already done away with her police protection saying “No way, we are warrior clan you see”. So the change is coming, although very slowly. Lets wish her god speed.
Coming to women’s empowerment, there is also a good news from Jammu & Kashmir where highly educated women have entered the political scene as never before. Both National Conference and PDP have encouraged women to take to politics. There are law and economics graduates entering the largely men’s domain of Kashmir politics and making their mark. It is good for women, and good for the society and the country. Some lessons for Congress and BJP, who only talk about women empowerment but does very little on the ground?!
When it comes to senior leaders accused of corruption, all parties appear, at least Congress and BJP, same, in some-how protecting them. Going, going, not gone is the story of Kripa Shankar Singh, the Mumbai Congress Chief, who was facing serious corruption charges, after all is not going. For months the issue of his ouster was in the air, but somehow nobody, including the powerful Congress President, strangely, did not take the call. Now, how these Congressmen can accuse the BJP leadership for not asking the Karnataka CM, B.S. Yediyurappa to take a walk? To do a thing, the wrong way, there are hundreds ways. But to do a thing, the correct way, there is only one way, the correct way. As usual it is politicking of the useless kind.
Among the high decibel fasting of both Hazare and Ramdev, the quite but dignified fast of Medha Patkar, did not elicit the, media and civil society, response it deserved. However it is to the credit of Maharashtra Government that, before Medha could fall badly ill, they acted. She was fasting against the demolition of slum colony of Ganesh Kripa Housing Society by the government. Yes, she was fasting for aam aadmi, a non-issue for both media and high strung civil society. Similar was the case of the young 34 year old Nigamananda swami who died fasting, over the government’s refusal to ban mining on the banks of the River Ganga, near Haridwar. In fact it became a national issue when the swami died. And suddenly Ministry of Environment is coming alive to address the problem. Isn’t it a sad reflection of our society, our administration, our 24x7 media, that how easily we lose our sense of proportion, if there is no accompanying hype to our movement, despite issues being so fundamental? It was only because electronic media ignored them, it went out of sight for the society as well as administration. A sad aspect of our tryst with destiny. Here it is important to highlight that the Chief Minister of Uttarkhand, where the young swami succumbed to his fasting, found time to visit Ramdev in Haridwar, but had no time for the swami. You make big noise, you are heard, or else you are damned.
“Govt. constitutes Task Force to oversee the RTI implementation” informed a press report. A Special Task Force, ostensibly to ensure effective implementation of the Act, so also to bring about more transparency in governance. Section 4 of the Act informs that a public authority, like ministries, government departments, public sector companies are duty bound to maintain all its records duly catalogued and indexed and put it in public domain. Besides there are so many do’s and don’ts which union government has not seriously looked into, in making RTI as a tool of people’s empowerment, complain RTI activists.
“The Special Task Force will finalise its recommendation by 31st July” the Deptt of Personnel and Training of the Union government maintained while responding to the complaints. On the other hand the cabinet decided to exclude CBI from the ambit of the RTI. Isn’t it strange?
The idea of keeping CBI out of bounds for activists was probably an afterthought, after an activist was provided with the info by Central Information Commissioner (CIC). CIC had earlier provided an applicant, information on expenditure on the infamous Italian fugitive Quattrocchi case. The information had exploded on the face of CBI, which claimed the expenditure to be Rs: 250 crores and hence asked the court to permit CBI to close the case. But according to CIC, it was only Rs. 5 crores that the CBI had spent. So suddenly, it appears, some powerful vested interest, got alerted and decided to influence the UPA government to get the CBI excluded from the RTI net. So on one hand they are keeping CBI out and on the other they are constituting STF to promote RTI implementation. That is UPA govt for you.
Issue of ‘Maran must go’ has gained momentum with BJP and Jayalalitha making concerted noises. The fact of Maran’s brother owned Sun TV getting Rs: 600 crores as investment as a quid-pro-quo from the Malaysian Maxis group for allotment of telecom licences for 14 circles when Maran was the Telecom Minister in UPA-I is already in the public domain. Luckily for Maran, his wrong doing came to light much later than that of A. Raja of his party, the DMK. The investment of Rs: 200 crore in Kalaingar TV of Karunanidhi family is 1/3 of what Maran did for his brothers company Sun TV, and yet both Raja, the then Telecom Minister in UPA-II and Kanimozhi, M.P. and Karunannidhi’s daughter, are in jail. But Maran is still moving freely, although the possible arrest is in the air. But strangely our most honest Prime Minister is indecisive on Dayanidhi Maran. Is he waiting for it to be blown on his face? Another scam gaining credibility is the story of personal telephone exchange for Maran’s residence in Chennai with 323 lines from BSNL linked to Sun TV. Reportedly, in one month alone, usage by this 323 lines to Sun TV cost the exchequer some whopping Rs. 440 crores.
So its not just bribery, but also fraud, on the nation by Maran. So there is enough room for PM to act. The question is, what is stopping him to sack Maran, the present Textile Minister in UPA-II?
Mouthing inanities has become a kind of past-time for this joker of Diggi Raaja. From calling Baba Ramdev a Thug, and stating that Ramdev’s movement is backed by RSS and Sangh Parivar, and that he should only concentrate on Yoga and Ayurveda and not meddle in politics of corruption, he has become a kind of spokesman for Congress High Command’s unstated agenda.
He confirmed it, when he openly floated the idea that Congress Yuvaraj Rahul Gandhi is ready to take over the reins of Prime Minstership of the country. While everybody is entitled to dream, should this coterie politics push Rahul as PM, that will be a greater disservice Congress shall be doing on the country and can cause serious problems to the body politic of the country.
Refusal of Karnataka government, the “World Heritage Site” tag of UNESCO, displays the short-sightedness of Yediyurappa government. The reason cited for the refusal was that it would hinder developmental activities. Normally, one would think that such a tag would be a matter of honour for the state, but the wooly eyed state leadership does not think that way. For them development really means that of themselves and that of their industrial friends, who cannot exploit the Ghats once UNESCO tag comes. Of course, it is to the credit of Jairam Ramesh, the activist MoEF, who has declined to accept the refusal of the state govt. Why BJP governments all over the country are becoming environment unfriendly, is a question that needs to be addressed.
A.K. Antony, honest and transparent that he is, sitting over a huge defence budget, decided to spend some part of it, a big one at that, on his home state. Is he doing anything wrong? Of course non-Keralite Indians may have reason to complain. Truth is Keralites are, all over the world, in search of employment, because there is no new industry being set up. Thanks to the red flag culture of trade unionised communist politics, nobody from across the world-including India-want to venture into the Gods Own Country with private investment to set up industry. Now that Antony is the Union Defence Minister, reportedly, he has blessed the state with some seven defence projects since his becoming the Minister in Oct. 2006. Seven is indeed one-too-many. Latest being the Coast Guard Academy at Azhikkal, while just 20km away is the Indian Naval Academy Ezimalla inaugurated only 2 years ago. Then there is National Instt. for Research & Development in ship building near Kozhikode. So also the strategic electronic unit at Kasargod of HAL Bangalore is another major activity that graced the Kerala landscape. Then there are companies like BHEL and BEL setting up their defence related units in Palalkkad and Kochi. Thus the list is pretty long. Good thing is Antony does not have a personal agenda, and he was hand picked for the job only because of his personal impeccable integrity. He is doing something for his people. Look at Mamata’s tenure as Railway Minister. All are privy to the knowledge how many railway development projects she brought to West Bengal. But there are any number of politicians, who only mouth clichés of crafty politics, including those from Karnataka. Minister of State for Railways Muniappa, not only could not do much for Karnataka, where he got elected from, he could not save the only train from Mangalore to Bangalore from being extended to Kannur in Kerala by the Malayalee lobby headed by E.Ahmed, the other state minister at Railway Bhavan. Now it is Yashwantpur/Kannur xpress, via Mangalore although there is another train starting from Yashwantpur to Kannur only 35 minutes before this train, but going via different route directly to Kannur. This train reaches Kannur much before the train that goes via Mangalore. Hence the crowd from Mangalore to Kannur is not even 100 in the train. A huge waste, by any stretch of imagination. But it is Kerala politics that prevailed and Karnataka MPs could do precious nothing. Even when it comes to other projects, Karnataka MPs are not a force to reckon with.
Power of tainted money is such that, now a larger part of the world is worked up to make the black money, banked in tax havens, as a national priority to bring it back to where it truly belongs. According to reports coming from Organisation for Economic Co—operation and Development (OECD), global bodies are putting enormous pressure, including threat of sanctions on tax havens like Switzerland and Luxembourg to change its non transparent laws and share information.
OECD, a group of 34 developed countries, who account for some 80% of the world trade, is exerting pressure by adopting a set of criteria for black listing tax havens if they refuse to co-operate. Switzerland, Luxembourg and Austria are member countries of OECD working closely with the G 20 (Group of 20 countries). Jeffry Owens, one of the directors of OECD has reportedly stated that “at the G 20 Cannes Summit in Nov. 2011, OECD would recommend tough actions against tax havens, should these countries play difficult”. At least for the Indian aam aadmi it is a good development. Hope this coloured money, estimated between $ 450 bn to $ 1400 bn, does come back to India to make a difference to the man on the street. Only then the Super Power status dream may become relevant, when nobody goes to bed hungry.
This must be the real first, anywhere in the world, that a father, who happened to be the executive head of a state could have written a poem on his daughter to be included in the school text book of the state. Muthuvelu Karunanidhi, who is a professional film script writer, who became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu did exactly that. One of the first thing that J.Jayalalitha did was to appoint a committee to go into the school curriculum, where poems and passages in praise of M. Karunanidhi and his daughter Kanimozhi were snuggled in. Come to think of it that a subject of poetic adulation, instead of being on a high pedestal, in the socio-political domain, is actually in the jail on corruption charges, could be a bit of tragi-comedy, for the students of Tamil Nadu government schools. It could be true that the arrogance of power of the DMK patriarch had corrupted him so completely that he did not think twice to include himself, his daughter and his political party, approvingly to the utter disdain of all and sundry, except may be his sycophantic boneless wonders called partymen. In the event things went so bad for both party and Kanimozhi, not only because of the drubbing the party suffered at the hustings, but also because of the 2G spectrum corruption charge and the consequent jail term to Kanimozhi. The order of the Apex Court to examine the curriculum and to delete those objectionable portion is indeed a relief for both the students and Kani/DMK combine, or it can also be hugely embarrassing for the lady and her father, the party supremo.
With the Adarsh Society scandal in the South Mumbai becoming murkier by the day, with files of all kinds missing, Ministry of Environment has a herculean task in its hands, how to get going with Maharashtra politicians & babus who are ‘professional machinists’. Machination is their wont, as can be seen in the statement of Prathviraj Chavan, the Maharashtra CM. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function, Chavan was reported to have stated “Lavasa too important to be scuttled” despite the centre directing the state government to act against the Lavasa developmental norms. While it is true that huge amounts have been spent on Lavasa, the usual arrogance of the industry that they can buy up anything and everybody needs to be contained, to fall in line. While Chavan indicated that being such a big project for Maharashtra, government will regularise the project may be by penalising the company both on record and off the record. So it is always the ‘Paise ka bol baala’, when money speaks, all goes quite. Poor Jairam Ramesh.
Amidst the cacophony of ruling politicians and so-called intellectuals berating the civil society panel members for supposedly usurping the role of parliament or the power of elected members comes the refreshing news from Canada. There was this news in the print media titled “Shocking protest stunt against Canada PM!”. A 21 year old Brigette DePape, as if a bolt from the blue, raised a banner inside the parliament “Stop Harper” disrupting the speech of Governor General to open the first session of the new parliament in early June, around the same time New Delhi was witnessing the anti corruption rallies. She was reportedly protesting the agenda of Prime Minister Stephen Harper on environment, defence, tax and other issues. Stating that Prime Minister’s agenda is ‘extremely harmful’ for Canada, she stressed “We need to challenge the assumption that democracy happens only once every four years. Real democracy happens in our everyday lives and in everyday actions.” Supporting her unprecedented action was Oscar winning documentary maker Michael Moore, who reportedly signed off saying “It is only through these unconventional actions that we can challenge the status quo”. Something our so-called law makers have to know and learn. Yes the question is why should the changes come only once in 5 years? If people have given you the power, they have the power to question you and your action. Isn’t is so true what Anna Hazare had said “Sevak Maalik ban gaya hai, ye hamara daurbhagya hai”. Yes, issue indeed needs to be forced, whether Kapil Sibal & Company like it or not.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appears to be in trouble of some kind. Across the media spectrum, he is being portrayed as a “lame duck” Prime Minister. No other Prime Minister, anywhere in the world must have been written about, as Dr Manmohan Singh, the economist bureaucrat. As World Bank Director, as Finance Secretary, as RBI governor, as adviser to ministries and Finance Minister to PV Narasimha Rao, and since last seven years as Prime Minister, lot of black has gone on to the white. From variously described as the most educated, to most honest, to cleanest to weakest to most helpless, most laid back, Dr Singh unfortunately gives an impression of all these. It is true that he avoids limelight, but he also avoids domestic press. But he is comfortable with foreign press, since they can be handled better with their uncomfortable questions, if any, and has a tendency to blame opposition parties for the problems of the country. Ever since the 2G spectrum became staple diet of the media and public space, Dr Singh has come under greater scrutiny for his commissions and omissions of actions, took place or did not take place. Whether, it was the Ottavio Quattrochi's flight from Indian justice system, or the quick response to de-sealing of his a/c in London, or delay in action on A. Raja, the former Telecom Minister, or on the role of Dayanidhi Maran, another former Telecom Minister, but currently Textile Minister in UPA II and action thereon, Dr Singh has come under criticism. Latest is the Reliance Industries and the ministry of Petroleum partnership in causing national loss. He is accused mainly by media and opposition leaders, besides the so-called experts and intellectuals who take part in T.V. programmes, as ineffective and has failed to assert the Prime Ministerial authority. This accusation is not without reasoning and hence got stuck. In his latest interaction with a small group of editors, he criticised CAG for being pro-active that has rather gone down badly with the media. CAG is a watch dog and is doing its role effectively. If 2G was exposed to the level, that it is, the major credit goes to CAG. Now they are out with a draft report on RIL/Murli Deora involvement in price fixing to the benefit of Mukesh Ambani, and PM says this activism will discourage entrepreneurs. That’s plain nonsense. This type of criticism will not take him anywhere, except that, looters of the national wealth shall only be happy. Yes, things are not hunky-dory for the Prime Minister. If he does not assert himself, the accusation that he is 'lame duck' will remain. If it is difficult to face up to the Congress President who made him the Prime Minister, it will help him if goes along with the reports of constitutional bodies, like CAG, PAC, etc. so that a hope that we have a performing Prime Minister, shall come about. Hope it happens in the larger interest of the country.
For the kind of problems that Karnataka governor created for the state government, we have debated in the Focus the relevance of the constitutional post of governor to states. Hope readers find it interesting, and shall revert with their response. Rest of the issues are as usual.
The month began with Lokpal Bill and Baba Ramdev hogging the media limelight. In fact more than Lokpal Bill, the government appeared more worried about the Ramdev factor. That was how four ministers had gone to receive him or meet him at the airport itself. It was an unprecedented move. This importance that the UPA government at Delhi gave to Baba Ramdev was the one that led to all problems. Baba thought he can play difficult. As events unfolded, the fast that Baba Ramdev undertook ended in a fiasco he will never be able to repeat. Of course the share of the blame has to be shared equally by both sides. Yes the whole of India is privy to what happened from 2nd June to midnight of 5th June. Both sides exposed themselves to a complete lack of pragmatism.
To begin with, the threat of fast by Baba Ramdev itself was wrong. Black money as an issue, it was, it is, and it will continue to be in the public domain for a long time. It is also very much true that this government led by Congress is not very keen to act fast and decisively. They have been making some right noises at different times. But they were only noises without any seriousness to follow it up. We all know Hassan Ali case. It has been there for many years in the public domain. Pranab Mukherjee even included the I.T. dues from him, of Rs: 100,000 crores, in 2009/10 budget. But why no action followed until skeleton started falling from the cupboard? Pranab Mukherjee is the senior most politician in the present dispensation. He served Indira Gandhi, he served Rajeev Gandhi, he is serving now Manmohan Singh government. He is privy to everything and is the real stumbling block for any serious piece of action. He will continue to mouth inanities of legal hurdles and all that crap. So there has to be public pressure of serious nature. Baba Ramdev with his large following had the wherewithal to force the issue. But he bungled it royally. First of all he should not have gone on fast in such a teething hurry, just after Anna Hazare’s fast. He could have given the list of demand to the government and a time, of say 3 months, to comeback with their action plan. His problem was, if Anna Hazare, a penniless aged social worker, can force the issue and the media singing paeans about him, why not me, a jet set multi million $ worth yoga guru, still fairly young, with a huge fan club? So it was his ego that was his undoing and drove his movement to an abrupt end. Besides, the list of his demands was pretty long. His advisers failed him here too. It is a simple logic, if issues are many then focus is lost. He should have kept himself to his core issues of Black money, Land acquisition and better price for farmers. Surely even government of Manmohan Singh would have felt constrained to address them, for its sheer validity. Unfortunately both sides turned out clever by half, with police snooping on sleeping crowd in the midnight and Baba trying to escape in salwar kameez. In the event, BJP, the political adversary of the UPA can exploit the situation for their advantage. Of course BJP’s prime ministerial hopeful Sushma Swaraj reduced herself and the party to be laughed at by her dancing at Rajghat. It was a completely avoidable intelligence that went awry.
Yes the Lokpal Bill is continuing to experience serious delivery pangs with the possibility of an IUD (Intra Uterine Death). Both parties are sticking to their respective points of view. There appears to be an impasse. But the government side as usual do not want Prime Minister and higher Judiciary to be covered under Lokpal Bill, with their usual stand that they will be under pressure to discharge their duties freely. It is a plain hog wash. But may be this is one way, how to derail the Lokpal Bill and the Civil Society panel. It was for the first time that a panel was created from among the elected representatives and civil society members to discuss and draft a legislation. This initiative from Anna Hazare, Bhushan duo, Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi and Swami Agnivesh need too be commended. In the overall interest of the country, the political managers should seize the initiative to give to the nation a Bill that whole nation can feel comfortable with. If the idea of a Lokpal is the honest delivery of the national resources to all citizens pari passu, why should there be any problems? Only politicians know, what is good for the country? But they have taken 63 long years, and India, a Super Power in the making, is still groping in uncertain waters. Why? Why?
So, Mamata Banerjee, who engineered the biggest political upset and therefore a monumental change in the body politic of West Bengal, how is she settling down with her newest and the most challenging opportunity of her political life? Report in the print media has informed that she began with a bang. To begin with 10am-5pm culture, out of the window, for all ministers, Saturdays are working days. For first couple of days its past midnight at Writers Building. Yes you heard it right. She refused bullet proof car, declined the privilege of free passage, informed the police that she would stop her vehicle – a black Santro – like all else, at the signals. In fact she even walked the kilometer long route from Raj Bhavan to the Writers Building just to meet the-over 2 lakh-people assembled to see her after her historic win. Of course, she is in great hurry to reach out to her people to keep her promises. Chances of slipping is high. She is honest, sincere and committed and there is no doubt that she is pretty tall among the political dwarfs that are replete all around. Of course she has been more than civil to her opponents. But she needs to be equally pragmatic. Will she be? is a question only coming months shall answer. Yes the ordinance she tried to promulgate on Singur land has back-fired and she quickly backtracked. She can’t take away anything from the Assembly, what is due to it, whether she likes it or not. Coming to selection of ministers, despite her desire to keep it small, it became the biggest of all time with some 44 ministers, with some 10 of them being crorepatis. And her own worth, as per her nomination details, was a mere Rs: 4.73 lakhs, with no house and no car. She is-both seen and known to be-sparten, a model not many shall be able to emulate.
Nitish Kumar deserves to be congratulated for enacting Bihar Special Courts Act, 2009, which empowers the government to confiscate the property of corrupt public servants under the Prevention of Corruption Act. There is no such law anywhere in India, yet High Court in Patna upheld the validity of the law and Supreme Court refused to stay the operation of the law. What is debatable is the power, given to the authorised officer under the law, to confiscate the property, if he is convinced that the property was indeed acquired through ill gotten money. While it is true that the law gives the state, represented by the officer, sweeping powers to reduce the alleged accused into penury, the fact that both High Court as well as Supreme Court decided not to play the ball, has certainly strengthened the hands of Bihar government. Surely, before taking a stand, courts could have applied itself. Such a law was indeed needed to curb the proliferation of sleaze. Hope and wish, the law is not misused to check politically inconvenient opponents.
It was in Sept 2010, that the celluloid actor Salman Khan had mouthed inanities of over-smartness while giving his infamous interview to a Pak Channel. He had then, reportedly told the Channel that “Everyone and the world knows the truth that Pakistani government was not behind the Mumbai terror attack,” and added “It is also a fact that the terrorist strike took place because our Indian intelligence and security failed miserably”. Now is he going to eat his words or swallow it? The story of Dawood Gilani urf David Headley – a Pakistani - Muslim convert Christian – unfolded to the world via the Chicago Court, has unmistakably exposed the Pakistan’s sinister role in spreading mayhem in India. It was not just the complicity, it was the active participation that this David Headley spoke, which comprehensively exposed the lie, that this Islamic Republic of Pakistan was continuously indulging in, to harm India and Indians. And for this juvenile and uncalled for statement, whom was this Salman Khan trying to impress? Some of his friends & admirers in Pakistan? In the first place who is Salman Khan after all, to comment on such a serious issue as terrorist attack, what is his locus standi? He is only a film actor. Being an actor, he is nobody. He should keep his talents to gyrations and chasing girls in the cine films and deliver those dialogues which somebody else has written for him and his ilk. Giving opinions on issues like terrorism is simply not his cup of tea. And 26/11 wasn’t just a terror attack, it was a war on India.
That Pakistan’s ISI involvement was a forgone conclusion, was never in doubt. But for the home Minister and the Prime Minister to say only that “nothing new has come, we already know it” after the David Headley exposure in Chicago, was to be less than serious. They should have hyped the decibel to a much higher level to make the world sit up and take note. Is it another dimension of our being soft? At this point it is very pertinent to point out, that Al-Qaeda would have beheaded this Dawood Gilani when he became David Headley. But the truth is he became a Christian only to hide his identity to carry on his nefarious activities. For all you know, he could still be visiting Mosques on Fridays, if not all days.
Ayman Al-Zawahiri who took over the mantle of Al Qaeda, has vowed to continue jihad against America saying “Man who terrified America in his life will continue to terrify it after his death” is nothing new. Violence has been the core of Al Qaeda philosophy, and violence will only lead to violence and more violence. But how will this solve the problem between Al Qaeda and the rest of the world? This is a question neither Al Zawahiri or the U. S. would answer. It is true that in the past, U.S. has been the initiator of violence to force their point of view, but they do retrace their steps. It is possible for the civilized world to pressure the U.S. to fall in line, a semblance of democracy still exists. But with Al Qaeda’s secretive existence and equally secretive operation makes it an extremely difficult customer to handle. Should this Al Qaeda abjure violence and raise the peace banner, it can be 100% wagered to believe that U.S. under Barrack Obama shall be more than willing to talk and draw a road map for global peace and to address all problems affecting not just the Islam, or those Muslim countries, but the entire world. Isn’t this prospect worth dreaming? It is indeed eminently possible that such a scenario is not far fetched but within the realm of human endevour. As Obama had rightly observed long ago in his seminal writing “Audacity of Hope”, that we have more things that unite us than those that divide us. Yes, people like Al Zawahiri, who is a medical doctor, needs to think out of the box, to play his role as a responsible leader of a section of humanity for the larger good of the world in general and for the good of his own people in particular. Or else time will run out for him so also for those ideas for which he and his ilk live on.
Although most of the candidates selected from Rahul brigade of young and energetic couldn’t make it in the hustings, the case of P.K. Jayalaxmi, a 29 year old tribal deserves special mention. She is not only the youngest elected representative of Kerala, but also now made a minister. Being very young and tribal makes it special. Being a graduate in Communicative English, her job is cutout to take her Ministry for Welfare of Scheduled Tribes and Youth Affairs in Oomen Chandy ministry to a higher level. At least there will be one from Rahul’s selection, who will take the cause of women, places. She is from the tribe who are archers and is a state silver medalist in archery. She has already done away with her police protection saying “No way, we are warrior clan you see”. So the change is coming, although very slowly. Lets wish her god speed.
Coming to women’s empowerment, there is also a good news from Jammu & Kashmir where highly educated women have entered the political scene as never before. Both National Conference and PDP have encouraged women to take to politics. There are law and economics graduates entering the largely men’s domain of Kashmir politics and making their mark. It is good for women, and good for the society and the country. Some lessons for Congress and BJP, who only talk about women empowerment but does very little on the ground?!
When it comes to senior leaders accused of corruption, all parties appear, at least Congress and BJP, same, in some-how protecting them. Going, going, not gone is the story of Kripa Shankar Singh, the Mumbai Congress Chief, who was facing serious corruption charges, after all is not going. For months the issue of his ouster was in the air, but somehow nobody, including the powerful Congress President, strangely, did not take the call. Now, how these Congressmen can accuse the BJP leadership for not asking the Karnataka CM, B.S. Yediyurappa to take a walk? To do a thing, the wrong way, there are hundreds ways. But to do a thing, the correct way, there is only one way, the correct way. As usual it is politicking of the useless kind.
Among the high decibel fasting of both Hazare and Ramdev, the quite but dignified fast of Medha Patkar, did not elicit the, media and civil society, response it deserved. However it is to the credit of Maharashtra Government that, before Medha could fall badly ill, they acted. She was fasting against the demolition of slum colony of Ganesh Kripa Housing Society by the government. Yes, she was fasting for aam aadmi, a non-issue for both media and high strung civil society. Similar was the case of the young 34 year old Nigamananda swami who died fasting, over the government’s refusal to ban mining on the banks of the River Ganga, near Haridwar. In fact it became a national issue when the swami died. And suddenly Ministry of Environment is coming alive to address the problem. Isn’t it a sad reflection of our society, our administration, our 24x7 media, that how easily we lose our sense of proportion, if there is no accompanying hype to our movement, despite issues being so fundamental? It was only because electronic media ignored them, it went out of sight for the society as well as administration. A sad aspect of our tryst with destiny. Here it is important to highlight that the Chief Minister of Uttarkhand, where the young swami succumbed to his fasting, found time to visit Ramdev in Haridwar, but had no time for the swami. You make big noise, you are heard, or else you are damned.
“Govt. constitutes Task Force to oversee the RTI implementation” informed a press report. A Special Task Force, ostensibly to ensure effective implementation of the Act, so also to bring about more transparency in governance. Section 4 of the Act informs that a public authority, like ministries, government departments, public sector companies are duty bound to maintain all its records duly catalogued and indexed and put it in public domain. Besides there are so many do’s and don’ts which union government has not seriously looked into, in making RTI as a tool of people’s empowerment, complain RTI activists.
“The Special Task Force will finalise its recommendation by 31st July” the Deptt of Personnel and Training of the Union government maintained while responding to the complaints. On the other hand the cabinet decided to exclude CBI from the ambit of the RTI. Isn’t it strange?
The idea of keeping CBI out of bounds for activists was probably an afterthought, after an activist was provided with the info by Central Information Commissioner (CIC). CIC had earlier provided an applicant, information on expenditure on the infamous Italian fugitive Quattrocchi case. The information had exploded on the face of CBI, which claimed the expenditure to be Rs: 250 crores and hence asked the court to permit CBI to close the case. But according to CIC, it was only Rs. 5 crores that the CBI had spent. So suddenly, it appears, some powerful vested interest, got alerted and decided to influence the UPA government to get the CBI excluded from the RTI net. So on one hand they are keeping CBI out and on the other they are constituting STF to promote RTI implementation. That is UPA govt for you.
Issue of ‘Maran must go’ has gained momentum with BJP and Jayalalitha making concerted noises. The fact of Maran’s brother owned Sun TV getting Rs: 600 crores as investment as a quid-pro-quo from the Malaysian Maxis group for allotment of telecom licences for 14 circles when Maran was the Telecom Minister in UPA-I is already in the public domain. Luckily for Maran, his wrong doing came to light much later than that of A. Raja of his party, the DMK. The investment of Rs: 200 crore in Kalaingar TV of Karunanidhi family is 1/3 of what Maran did for his brothers company Sun TV, and yet both Raja, the then Telecom Minister in UPA-II and Kanimozhi, M.P. and Karunannidhi’s daughter, are in jail. But Maran is still moving freely, although the possible arrest is in the air. But strangely our most honest Prime Minister is indecisive on Dayanidhi Maran. Is he waiting for it to be blown on his face? Another scam gaining credibility is the story of personal telephone exchange for Maran’s residence in Chennai with 323 lines from BSNL linked to Sun TV. Reportedly, in one month alone, usage by this 323 lines to Sun TV cost the exchequer some whopping Rs. 440 crores.
So its not just bribery, but also fraud, on the nation by Maran. So there is enough room for PM to act. The question is, what is stopping him to sack Maran, the present Textile Minister in UPA-II?
Mouthing inanities has become a kind of past-time for this joker of Diggi Raaja. From calling Baba Ramdev a Thug, and stating that Ramdev’s movement is backed by RSS and Sangh Parivar, and that he should only concentrate on Yoga and Ayurveda and not meddle in politics of corruption, he has become a kind of spokesman for Congress High Command’s unstated agenda.
He confirmed it, when he openly floated the idea that Congress Yuvaraj Rahul Gandhi is ready to take over the reins of Prime Minstership of the country. While everybody is entitled to dream, should this coterie politics push Rahul as PM, that will be a greater disservice Congress shall be doing on the country and can cause serious problems to the body politic of the country.
Refusal of Karnataka government, the “World Heritage Site” tag of UNESCO, displays the short-sightedness of Yediyurappa government. The reason cited for the refusal was that it would hinder developmental activities. Normally, one would think that such a tag would be a matter of honour for the state, but the wooly eyed state leadership does not think that way. For them development really means that of themselves and that of their industrial friends, who cannot exploit the Ghats once UNESCO tag comes. Of course, it is to the credit of Jairam Ramesh, the activist MoEF, who has declined to accept the refusal of the state govt. Why BJP governments all over the country are becoming environment unfriendly, is a question that needs to be addressed.
A.K. Antony, honest and transparent that he is, sitting over a huge defence budget, decided to spend some part of it, a big one at that, on his home state. Is he doing anything wrong? Of course non-Keralite Indians may have reason to complain. Truth is Keralites are, all over the world, in search of employment, because there is no new industry being set up. Thanks to the red flag culture of trade unionised communist politics, nobody from across the world-including India-want to venture into the Gods Own Country with private investment to set up industry. Now that Antony is the Union Defence Minister, reportedly, he has blessed the state with some seven defence projects since his becoming the Minister in Oct. 2006. Seven is indeed one-too-many. Latest being the Coast Guard Academy at Azhikkal, while just 20km away is the Indian Naval Academy Ezimalla inaugurated only 2 years ago. Then there is National Instt. for Research & Development in ship building near Kozhikode. So also the strategic electronic unit at Kasargod of HAL Bangalore is another major activity that graced the Kerala landscape. Then there are companies like BHEL and BEL setting up their defence related units in Palalkkad and Kochi. Thus the list is pretty long. Good thing is Antony does not have a personal agenda, and he was hand picked for the job only because of his personal impeccable integrity. He is doing something for his people. Look at Mamata’s tenure as Railway Minister. All are privy to the knowledge how many railway development projects she brought to West Bengal. But there are any number of politicians, who only mouth clichés of crafty politics, including those from Karnataka. Minister of State for Railways Muniappa, not only could not do much for Karnataka, where he got elected from, he could not save the only train from Mangalore to Bangalore from being extended to Kannur in Kerala by the Malayalee lobby headed by E.Ahmed, the other state minister at Railway Bhavan. Now it is Yashwantpur/Kannur xpress, via Mangalore although there is another train starting from Yashwantpur to Kannur only 35 minutes before this train, but going via different route directly to Kannur. This train reaches Kannur much before the train that goes via Mangalore. Hence the crowd from Mangalore to Kannur is not even 100 in the train. A huge waste, by any stretch of imagination. But it is Kerala politics that prevailed and Karnataka MPs could do precious nothing. Even when it comes to other projects, Karnataka MPs are not a force to reckon with.
Power of tainted money is such that, now a larger part of the world is worked up to make the black money, banked in tax havens, as a national priority to bring it back to where it truly belongs. According to reports coming from Organisation for Economic Co—operation and Development (OECD), global bodies are putting enormous pressure, including threat of sanctions on tax havens like Switzerland and Luxembourg to change its non transparent laws and share information.
OECD, a group of 34 developed countries, who account for some 80% of the world trade, is exerting pressure by adopting a set of criteria for black listing tax havens if they refuse to co-operate. Switzerland, Luxembourg and Austria are member countries of OECD working closely with the G 20 (Group of 20 countries). Jeffry Owens, one of the directors of OECD has reportedly stated that “at the G 20 Cannes Summit in Nov. 2011, OECD would recommend tough actions against tax havens, should these countries play difficult”. At least for the Indian aam aadmi it is a good development. Hope this coloured money, estimated between $ 450 bn to $ 1400 bn, does come back to India to make a difference to the man on the street. Only then the Super Power status dream may become relevant, when nobody goes to bed hungry.
This must be the real first, anywhere in the world, that a father, who happened to be the executive head of a state could have written a poem on his daughter to be included in the school text book of the state. Muthuvelu Karunanidhi, who is a professional film script writer, who became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu did exactly that. One of the first thing that J.Jayalalitha did was to appoint a committee to go into the school curriculum, where poems and passages in praise of M. Karunanidhi and his daughter Kanimozhi were snuggled in. Come to think of it that a subject of poetic adulation, instead of being on a high pedestal, in the socio-political domain, is actually in the jail on corruption charges, could be a bit of tragi-comedy, for the students of Tamil Nadu government schools. It could be true that the arrogance of power of the DMK patriarch had corrupted him so completely that he did not think twice to include himself, his daughter and his political party, approvingly to the utter disdain of all and sundry, except may be his sycophantic boneless wonders called partymen. In the event things went so bad for both party and Kanimozhi, not only because of the drubbing the party suffered at the hustings, but also because of the 2G spectrum corruption charge and the consequent jail term to Kanimozhi. The order of the Apex Court to examine the curriculum and to delete those objectionable portion is indeed a relief for both the students and Kani/DMK combine, or it can also be hugely embarrassing for the lady and her father, the party supremo.
With the Adarsh Society scandal in the South Mumbai becoming murkier by the day, with files of all kinds missing, Ministry of Environment has a herculean task in its hands, how to get going with Maharashtra politicians & babus who are ‘professional machinists’. Machination is their wont, as can be seen in the statement of Prathviraj Chavan, the Maharashtra CM. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function, Chavan was reported to have stated “Lavasa too important to be scuttled” despite the centre directing the state government to act against the Lavasa developmental norms. While it is true that huge amounts have been spent on Lavasa, the usual arrogance of the industry that they can buy up anything and everybody needs to be contained, to fall in line. While Chavan indicated that being such a big project for Maharashtra, government will regularise the project may be by penalising the company both on record and off the record. So it is always the ‘Paise ka bol baala’, when money speaks, all goes quite. Poor Jairam Ramesh.
Amidst the cacophony of ruling politicians and so-called intellectuals berating the civil society panel members for supposedly usurping the role of parliament or the power of elected members comes the refreshing news from Canada. There was this news in the print media titled “Shocking protest stunt against Canada PM!”. A 21 year old Brigette DePape, as if a bolt from the blue, raised a banner inside the parliament “Stop Harper” disrupting the speech of Governor General to open the first session of the new parliament in early June, around the same time New Delhi was witnessing the anti corruption rallies. She was reportedly protesting the agenda of Prime Minister Stephen Harper on environment, defence, tax and other issues. Stating that Prime Minister’s agenda is ‘extremely harmful’ for Canada, she stressed “We need to challenge the assumption that democracy happens only once every four years. Real democracy happens in our everyday lives and in everyday actions.” Supporting her unprecedented action was Oscar winning documentary maker Michael Moore, who reportedly signed off saying “It is only through these unconventional actions that we can challenge the status quo”. Something our so-called law makers have to know and learn. Yes the question is why should the changes come only once in 5 years? If people have given you the power, they have the power to question you and your action. Isn’t is so true what Anna Hazare had said “Sevak Maalik ban gaya hai, ye hamara daurbhagya hai”. Yes, issue indeed needs to be forced, whether Kapil Sibal & Company like it or not.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appears to be in trouble of some kind. Across the media spectrum, he is being portrayed as a “lame duck” Prime Minister. No other Prime Minister, anywhere in the world must have been written about, as Dr Manmohan Singh, the economist bureaucrat. As World Bank Director, as Finance Secretary, as RBI governor, as adviser to ministries and Finance Minister to PV Narasimha Rao, and since last seven years as Prime Minister, lot of black has gone on to the white. From variously described as the most educated, to most honest, to cleanest to weakest to most helpless, most laid back, Dr Singh unfortunately gives an impression of all these. It is true that he avoids limelight, but he also avoids domestic press. But he is comfortable with foreign press, since they can be handled better with their uncomfortable questions, if any, and has a tendency to blame opposition parties for the problems of the country. Ever since the 2G spectrum became staple diet of the media and public space, Dr Singh has come under greater scrutiny for his commissions and omissions of actions, took place or did not take place. Whether, it was the Ottavio Quattrochi's flight from Indian justice system, or the quick response to de-sealing of his a/c in London, or delay in action on A. Raja, the former Telecom Minister, or on the role of Dayanidhi Maran, another former Telecom Minister, but currently Textile Minister in UPA II and action thereon, Dr Singh has come under criticism. Latest is the Reliance Industries and the ministry of Petroleum partnership in causing national loss. He is accused mainly by media and opposition leaders, besides the so-called experts and intellectuals who take part in T.V. programmes, as ineffective and has failed to assert the Prime Ministerial authority. This accusation is not without reasoning and hence got stuck. In his latest interaction with a small group of editors, he criticised CAG for being pro-active that has rather gone down badly with the media. CAG is a watch dog and is doing its role effectively. If 2G was exposed to the level, that it is, the major credit goes to CAG. Now they are out with a draft report on RIL/Murli Deora involvement in price fixing to the benefit of Mukesh Ambani, and PM says this activism will discourage entrepreneurs. That’s plain nonsense. This type of criticism will not take him anywhere, except that, looters of the national wealth shall only be happy. Yes, things are not hunky-dory for the Prime Minister. If he does not assert himself, the accusation that he is 'lame duck' will remain. If it is difficult to face up to the Congress President who made him the Prime Minister, it will help him if goes along with the reports of constitutional bodies, like CAG, PAC, etc. so that a hope that we have a performing Prime Minister, shall come about. Hope it happens in the larger interest of the country.
For the kind of problems that Karnataka governor created for the state government, we have debated in the Focus the relevance of the constitutional post of governor to states. Hope readers find it interesting, and shall revert with their response. Rest of the issues are as usual.
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