MONTH-IN-PERSPECTIVE
NEW DELHI: NDA's Look- East approach has brought rich dividends. Whether it is Odisha or West Bengal, Arunachal, Assam, Manipur, Tripura, every where it has been a saffron surge in the recently concluded Election 2019.
While in West Bengal, it has won 18 of 42 seats, from a mere 2 seats. It has been a spectacular performance clearly giving the Mamata Bannerjee government palpable jitters. While campaigning, in her crude verbatim, she had asked the people to give Modi a democratic slap, instead it was reversed. She will regret her remark in days to come. In Odisha, it won 8, out of 21 seats from the just 1 seat it had in 2014. Arunachal Pradesh, it won both the seats, Assam it won 9 out of 14 seats. Tripura it won both seats.
Thus, from a position of only 11 seats in 2014, BJP walked away with 40 seats, that’s a huge surge of about 4 times of its 2014 seat share.
This increased seat share would not have come about without having done things which the locals felt comfortable about. This only proves, despite publicity to the contrary by media, opposition parties and other vested interest groups, people who had seen the past 5 years of NDA government has clearly foresees that the future lies with NDA led by BJP and its Mascot Narendra Modi.
Hope in South, like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where NDA has drawn blank for whatever reason, has to be studied and make the electorates understand that NDA and BJP are not untouchable. There were compulsions which led to the victory of Congress, DMK and YSR Congress. There are enough cases of corruption involving Jagan Mohan Reddy of YSR Congress, DMK and even Congress in Kerala. Have voters in A.P, T.N, and Kerala become thick skinned about corruption? Even Bihar has changed. They have thrown out RJD of Lalu Prasad Yadav without any trace.
NEW DELHI:News savvy Indians are privy to the ongoing investigation into the sexual harassment case by a junior lady staff against the highest judicial officer of the land, the Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi. It is a very serious charge besides, it’s understood that she could invoke even ST/SC act against the CJI. Clearly the woman in question realizes the enormity of the allegation she has leveled against the top man at the apex court.
Reportedly she was a typist-cum-librarian in the Supreme Court from 2014-2018, all of 35 years. On becoming CJI, Justice Ranjan Gogoi transferred the woman to his office-cum-residence. It is also reliably understood that he employed the handicapped brother-in-law of this lady as a court attendant.
Fact or fiction, woman alleged that the CJI made overtures towards her and she rebuffed. She also alleged that he dictated a note for her to sign that she wanted to behave inappropriately with him. Reportedly she remained absent on one of the day following the above incident. Using it as a ruse woman was sacked from court employment. Termination of handicapped brother-in-law followed. Was CJI vengeful?
There is a panel of Supreme Court judges going through the case. Initially it appeared they wanted to throw the complaint out by giving a clean chit to the CJI. But apparently there is backing to the complainant. The controversy is not going to die soon.
Around the same time, reportedly woman’s husband and his brother, who were Delhi police constables were dismissed without being given a chance to be heard, it is alleged. It may be unrelated, but apparently cannot be dismissed as such under the circumstances.
Legally speaking, there appears to be a huge roadblock to the woman’s case. CJI Ranjan Gogoi has to sanction an FIR against himself, without which case cannot go further, even if the panel of judges finds ground to recommend an FIR in the case.
So will the case go ahead with adequate speed or will it keep dragging with inexplicable hurdles, if there appears to be sufficient ground to establish the veracity of the complaint against the CJI?!
Or like a journalist cum lawyer puts it “It is more likely this scandal will die a natural death”. This is Yeh Mera India.
BIHAR:Justice and judgement appear to be more often in conflict. Many times they appear to be on opposite sides. If High Court has apparently rendered justice to some over four lakh teachers on contract, Supreme Court reversed it on technical ground.
Reportedly in October 2017, Patna High Court had held that not only these contractual teachers are eligible for salaries on par with permanent teachers on the basis of equal pay for equal work, they should also be regularized as permanent teachers.
Clearly these contract teachers, who were appointed by the Panchayats unlike regular teachers appointed by the government, are a harassed lot for many years. Not only they get very low salaries, they also do not get other benefits enjoyed by the regular teachers.
It may be true that regularization of over 4 lakh teachers may involve huge monthly payments; there is certainly scope for improvements. Supreme Court should have found some via-media to redress the problem.
Clearly Apex court has not understood the seriousness of the suffering of these teachers, while hearing the state government’s stand. It appreciated all the positives that has happened since the recruitment of these teachers at Panchayat level, the increased rate of literacy in general and girls in particular and how better literacy has improved the demography due to reduction in Total Fertility Rate (TFR) etc. Thus clearly contribution by these teachers is certainly positive and therefore has to be rewarded; a point apex court has clearly missed. If you do not look after these teachers, who are in all probability are as good if not better than regular teachers, how do you expect them to perform better. These justices, who sit on judgement to deliver justice should be put in the place of these teachers for a change to understand the pain of these suffering teachers.
Since the budgetary provision to regularize over 4 lakh teachers may not be available in short term, court should have asked the government to give a programme of regularization over a period of time with some adhoc increase in payment of salaries in the short term to bridge the disparity, would have not only helped the morale of teachers but also given some breathing space to the government. But clearly Apex court has failed in the objective treatment of the case. Contract teachers’ organization should go for a review of the apex court judgement.
WEST BENGAL:Arrest and subsequent release of BJP yuwa morcha leader Priyanka Sharma for allegedly sharing an FB photograph which was morphed. As expected BJP roundly criticized the intolerance of Mamata administration presided over by the queen bee. Fortunately there were others as well who blasted West Bengal government for their high handedness.
This wasn’t the first time; she or her police have acted brazenly. Former Press Council Chairman, Justice Katju had written to Mamata Bannerjee saying, she had “become increasingly intolerant and whimsical”. Reportedly, threat, intimidation and violence against political opponents, be it BJP, Congress or Left Front has become unfortunately a norm with Mamata leadership.
Another serious dimension of the political development in West Bengal is the near break down of relation with centre. Especially dealing with BJP, her government has been denying permission to hold rallies or permission to land their helicopters. The latest refusal to talk to Prime Minister when he called to discuss the damage and impact of Fani Cyclone, is the height of arrogance on the part of Mamata, especially, when her counterpart in Odissa joined hands with the centre by presiding over a joint meeting with PM Modi, when he called on Cuttack to discuss the Cyclone Fani. What can happen?, post election result has to be waited and seen.
MAHARASHTRA: Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, by its very name is a vital connectivity for villages across India. To reach or to access any service like, health, market, school and many other essential services needed by any human habitation, the road connectivity is extremely important.
These road constructions necessarily will have large and small machineries which include concrete mixer machines and water tanker etc.
A news report datelined Nagpur has reported “Naxals torch mixer machines and water tankers in Gadchiroli”. This is clearly the height of lunacy. These culprits, who call themselves as protectors of marginalised are truly enemies of people and anti-nationals. They must be caught by the police or the security forces and jailed for life with intermittent denial of food and water to experience firsthand the suffering of tribals. After all they have destroyed machineries meant for infrastructure development for the benefit of tribal. What ideological madness is this to burn down machineries meant for essential road works?
Reportedly this has happened in Karka village of Gadchiroli district. The road under construction was meant to connect some 20 remote villages in the area. With this destruction of machineries there will be inevitable delay in realizing development potential for tribals of the area. This is a sad and bad development. Naxals must be wiped out from the surface of the earth.
MAHARASHTRA: There can be nothing more traumatic for a young girl, just 10 years old, to be sexually assaulted by her own father.
Trial court in Satara had convicted the accused Baban Rathore, for a 10 year rigorous imprisonment for raping his 10 year old daughter. He had managed to obtain the bail, and while being out, he along with his wife had pressured his daughter to turn hostile. However trial court had relied upon the medical evidence while convicting the accused.
Accused approached Bombay High Court saying that his daughter has contradicted the charge. But Justice Sadhana Jadhav stating that court cannot be oblivious to the fact and circumstances of the case and therefore confirmed the sentence of 10 years imprisonment to the accused. Bench observed that the “offence committed by Baban Rathore is not only a heinous offence but shatters the image of paternity in the eyes of daughter. She could bear the physical pain but would be living with an injury to her psyche” while adding “the biggest trauma would be that she was not even supported by her mother and was expected to lie before the court. This is a scar forever on human relation”.
Court was absolutely right in rejecting the appeal of the accused, which on the basis of contradictory statement by the victim had the potential of miscarriage of justice.
This is an eye opener for all girls to stay firm if their persona has been attacked without their consent.
MAHARASHTRA: Bombay High Court has warned the BJP led government not to interfere in democratic process, informs a report datelined Mumbai.
Now that the Bharatiya Janatha Party or BJP has won a national referendum under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, this warning becomes more relevant.
Reportedly at the behest of a BJP councilor in Bhiwandi-Nizampur City Municipal Corporation, BJP government had disqualified four nominated councilors without assigning any reason.
Four councilors, aggrieved at their disqualification, approached Bombay High Court. Taking note of the facts and circumstances, Justice Dharmadhikari opined, that the individual councilor who had issues to settle with these four nominated councilors used his party, which is running the government in Maharashtra, to suspend these councilors. Both misused their position when there are other avenues available for the individual councilor belonging to BJP, court reiterated, while stating that “We are of the firm opinion that the impugned order is ex-facie illegal, arbitrary and deserve to be set aside. It is vitiated by colourable exercise of power.” Justice Dharmadhikari concluded.
This kind of a rap is needed when government in its earnestness to please its members goes overboard and does acts which are prima facie wrong and illegal. Hope governments everywhere take this seriously.
MAHARASHTRA: How barbaric police can get anywhere in India does not require examples. There are far too many of them.
Sometime in September 2018, CBI judge in Kerala awarded death sentence to two police officers for the custodial death of a young man, Uday Kumar, 26 then. This happened around end of September 2005. It took 13 long years, but it came after all. For the first time police were made accountable anywhere in India and were awarded death sentence with CBI judge remarking “they deserve no clemency, they killed an innocent person in their custody”.
Now, here is a case from Mumbai. A family of a teenager Sachin Ravindra Jaiswar, is refusing to take the body of their son who was tortured to death by the Dharavi police for the alleged theft of a mobile phone. It happened on 12th July 2018. Police picked him up and tortured, the 17 year old, to confess and released him in unconscious state.
He was admitted to Sion Hospital, on 13th July. He died on 27th July, the body was shifted to the mortuary of JJ Hospital. After nine months, the family is refusing to take the body waiting for justice.
The family is demanding an FIR against the officers of Dharavi Police Station. Boy’s father Ravindar Jaiswar, a painter, says “They took my son at night and beaten him badly because of which he died. They do not have any evidence in the case. They forced my son to confess to the crime, but he refused to do so and they tortured him”. Reportedly case has been transferred to CBI. But apparently nothing serious is happening with CBI office, with usual response of “investigation is going on”, every time Jaiswal calls on them to know the progress.
The family is right in refusing to take the body of the youth. In July last year, reportedly BSP had taken up the case. But being election time party could have had their own priorities. Meanwhile there’s no one to wipe the tears of a mother who lost her young son to the police brutality.
Where are children’s rights activists, human rights organizations, PUCL etc?
No, something has to happen to bring the police criminals to books, in this brutal death of 17 year old Sachin Jaiswar, in their custody. Will it happen! Oh poor Mother India!
MAHARASHTRA: Sometime one fails to understand our society. Just outside a temple, an elderly women being thrashed only because she was feeding stray cats, which ostensibly crossed the way of the accused! In a temple there are so many so-called devotees, at a place like up-market Peddar Road in Mumbai and they do not come to the rescue of this lady senior citizen being beaten! This is incredible.
Why have we lost our sense of proportion? At least they could shout for the crowd to gather, instead of being passive spectators! How can we call ourselves civilized if we cannot protect vulnerable!
Reportedly outside the temple, the accused was kicking these stray cats and one Ms. Maya Mohnani a senior citizen stopped him. He foul mouthed her and beat her up; she called out to her son who was in the vicinity. When he intervened along with another gentleman who was reportedly an animal welfare officer, matter worsened with some 3 men attacking them and nobody else intervened. Soon thereafter they ran away. Somehow the son and the animal welfare officer managed to catch a guy and took his mobile and photographed him. In the melee officer sustained a fracture. In the meanwhile even third accused managed to slip.
As usual police in Gamdevi police station initially refused to register a case, but on insistence from the animal welfare officer they have registered the case. Sadly police did not know that there existed a law for prevention of cruelly to animals. This is Yeh Mera India.
MAHARASHTRA: Have you ever heard of bouncers being used by Municipal Corporations at a hefty cost to evict illegal hawkers? But the joke is, despite spending Rs. 57 lakhs, paid to a manpower agency for a period of 3 months, to clear the menace of hawkers occupying public space like footpath and even roads, hawkers continue to mock Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC).
Clearly something is wonky, not straight, funny etc.
Hawkers anywhere in the world like to take the law into their hands and occupy any space which suites them to reach their customers. So India or MBMC is no different. Mira Road and Bhayandar are two suburbs of megalopolis Mumbai. It has developed into a huge concrete jungle giving residential flats to Mumbai’s ever increasing workforce.
Two suburban railway networks of Central Railway and Western Railway has made Mumbai city ever on the vertical growth along the railway lines.
To cater to the growing population of residents in Mira Road and Bhayandar on the Western Railway there has to be availability of goods and services. With huge migrating crowd, hawking is one of the easier avenue of employment and therefore when you can’t pay rent or when you want it free, occupying public space is a norm, rightly or wrongly. But then you have a semblance of administration like municipalities in urban areas, which are supposed to regulate it.
The size of the population in both Mira Road & Bhayandar is so large, civic administration had to be a corporation. Thus came about MBMC, since both these railway stations are next to each other.
Here comes this management of the corporation activities and giving the citizens a sense of law and order.
Management has civic staff at different levels including a commissioner, an IAS, and lording over them is elected political class, Corporators belonging to different political parties. Everybody needs a source of income. Civic staff gets salary, so are the corporators along with their perks, if any.
So they all have a source of income, but some are more hungry than others. They are the real rotten apples. You find them everywhere, especially in India.
Thus this story of Rs. 57 lakhs paid to the manpower agency going waste should not truly surprise us Indians. This money was paid by the MBMC after adequate deliberations but the bouncers employed by the manpower agency have failed to stem this menace of illegal hawkers.
Apparently none appear to be worried about this waste of public money and hawkers continue to make life of ordinary citizens miserable in MBMC area. Probably as a print media member reported “While roads tagged as ‘No Hawkers Zone’ have remained only on paper, the glaring link between hawkers, politicians, civic personnel and contractors has become apparent”. This is Yeh Mera India.
MAHARASHTRA: Mumbai police should be hauled up and those who caused the death of a teenage boy Sachin Jaiswar in Dharavi Police Station should be hauled up over the burning coal. They deserve no sympathy.
On alleged theft of a cell phone this 17 year old was taken into the custody, after over 27 hours they returned the unconscious Sachin Jaiswar to his parents. He died in Sion Hospital without recovering. Reportedly, he was tortured on the night of 12th July 2018, on 13th night he was admitted to the hospital by his parents in an unconscious state. He died on 27th July. His body is still in JJ hospital mortuary and his parents are refusing to take the body, because Dharavi police refused to file an FIR against its officers.
Now Dharavi police is refusing to provide even CC TV footage of 12th July 2018 under RTI, the night when young Sachin was tortured for an alleged theft of a mere cell phone. Parents of Sachin Jaiswar must, with the help of some NGOs, file a Habeas Corpus writ in the Bombay High Court and get those cruel policemen presented before the adjudicators of justice.
Nothing short of death sentence, as given by the Kerala High Court to two senior police officers for the death of a youth in police custody, should be given to these terrorists in uniform from the Dharavi Police Station.
Do you hearken Mr. Home Minister of Maharashtra?!
KERALA: A writer in the print media titled his piece, post Muslim Education Society’s circular banning face veil – niqab, “KERALA VEIL BAN: SIGN OF UNREST WITHIN”.
Doesn’t matter who the writer is, but the title is completely wrong. The title could have been KERALA VEIL BAN: SIGNOF OPENNESS WITHIN, or KERALA VEIL BAN: SIGN OF CHANGING TIMES. Why writers should think there is unrest within the Kerala Muslim society? Why don’t you give them positive marks! There will always be resistance to the change. But change is the most certain thing. And all those, who are interested in the social welfare should support the MES President Dr. PA Faisal Gafoor. And the good news is he is not alone, he has supporters to his move to ban ‘niqab’ within college premises. He has law on his side as well. Society needs to stand behind such bold souls, who stand up against fundamentalists. The film ‘Secret Super star’ should be extensively shown in Kerala College campuses to send home the message.
According to Dr. Faisal Gafoor, this kind of dress is least suited to Kerala’s climate and it breeds dangerous bacteria, putting the health of women wearing burqa at great risk.
However opposition to the move by Dr. Faisal Gafoor is largely from clerics who are brainwashing youth especially in college campuses. Kerala is witness to the truth that hundreds of Kerala youth have sacrificed their lives in the killing fields of terrorist destinations like, Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq as they were brain washed with the promise of heaven if they die defending their faith. This business of enjoying in heaven is all rubbish. We do not know, if heaven or hell exists. But when we die only our soul leaves, leaving the body back where you breath your last. To enjoy pleasure of so-called heaven you need body with skin intact, which soul has left behind. So how can a formless soul enjoy! It is all fooling gullible people with the promise of heaven, which nobody knows where it is in the first place, if at all it is there. Therefore it is best that educational institutions take the lead in making these youth aware of their responsibility to themselves, their society and the country. The state, as a matter of law and order, must come to the help of Dr. Gafoor so that no untoward incident happens in MES.
According to some reliable sources, a new sense is dawning on the community especially among its moderate sections that it cannot turn a blind eye to whatever is happening to some of its youth. There is widespread belief that religious and cultural leaders of the community have failed their people in providing leadership and guidance to the youth going astray.
Community, in the larger interest of its society in particular and the country in general, follow leadership of likes of Dr. Gafoor, in helping the youth to correct their misguided ways to become more responsible for themselves as good citizens. Hope, the new dawn does not slip into an illusion.
KERALA: India is replete with agenda driven publications. The WEEK, the weekly from Kochi also suffers from this kind of a syndrome. In their May 19 issue, they had published an interview with the ‘on the run’ televangelist Zakir Naik. We wrote a letter to this effect to The WEEK which they have not published. Reproduced here is the letter, and we quote.
Poor choices
Your cover story of the man who is a fugitive from Indian law is in poor taste. And you call it scoop. Rubbish.
Especially, after Sri Lanka has banned the channel where this man called Zakir Naik was being aired, your cover photo has sent a wrong signal.
After all who is he, an evangelist, spreading Islam, the so-called religion of peace!
We are already hearing rumblings even in Malaysia where he is now located, about his being unwelcome. Your choice is poor.
There were many, where I could have contradicted, but limiting for only one more. Under POINT BLANK you gave precedence to what Chhattisgarh CM Baghel saying. After all he, an older man, touched the feet of Rahul Gandhi for making him the CM.
He has to say what pleases his party boss and family for he is obliged to him & family. This again is a poor choice at the top of POINT BLANK. Clearly you are agenda driven.
J.Shriyan
WORLD: Centre for Disease Dynamics Economics & Policy (CDDEP) in the United States has come up with a report ‘India facing shortage of 6 lakh doctors & 20 lakhs nurses’ suggesting that shortage of doctors and support staff is preventing patients from accessing life saving drugs. But the problem is accessing life saving drugs is hugely expensive.
The problem is not only due to the high cost of medicine supplied by private pharma companies, but also because government spending on health is less, unlike many other developing economies. In India 65% of health expenditure is out of pocket and report informs that such expenditure pushes some 57 million into poverty each year.
While it is true that there is a shortage of doctors and nurses, the problem of affordability and availability at affordable prices of both services and medicine are a stumbling block in the improved health indices within the country.
There has to be more medical colleges both in government sector as well in private sector so that more doctors are produced. More college shall also mean lower fees and therefore services can become automatically less expensive. This can also become an avenue for more employment, since the report informs that there is a shortage of some 2 million nurses. So opening more colleges and producing more nurses, to cater to the increasing number of medical colleges and hospitals would certainly lead to multiplier effect. Hope it happens.
WORLD: It’s a one of a kind initiative from an unlikely place. Print media datelined Dubai informs that a “Largest e-waste recycling plant opens in Dubai”. From the details available in the public space it looks like a win-win business proposal.
Located at Dubai Industrial Park, the 280,000 square feet plant will process Electrical & Electronic Equipment Waste (EEEW). The facility can process an entire range of EEEW from consumer, industrial, commercial, and military computer hardware. It’s a US$5 million project backed by the Swiss Government Export Finance Agency informs the report. Information Technology Asset Disposal, Refrigerant Gas and other specialised waste are some other inputs for the recycling unit. According to Gulf News, the facility will utilize, state-of- the -art reclamation technology which surpasses even the European Union standard for e-waste disposal, and has a capacity of processing of 100,000 tonnes of total integrated waste per year.
It’s indeed a very commendable initiative for a country like Dubai. According to Saud Abu Al Shawareb, Managing Director of Dubai Industrial Park , “The launch is a reflection of the UAEs journey towards becoming a global platform that attracts innovative business and a successful model of the new Green Economy”. Kudos to the leadership of UAE for this unique development.
WORLD; Only a few weeks ago New York based TIME magazine wrote the obituary of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as THE DIVIDER IN CHIEF OF INDIA, comes this summersault. In the latest issue of TIME, there is an article which claims “No Prime Minister has united the Indian electorate as much in close to five decades”. So two weeks ago he is DIVIDER IN CHIEF and two weeks later it is a complete U turn calling Prime Minister Modi as the unifier of India.
That’s inexplicably surprising. India is a complex country beyond the comprehension of usual journos looking only for sensation, especially likes of Aaatish Taseer, a Pakistani, who wrote the epitaph THE DIVIDER IN CHIEF.
If this U turn is post the unprecedented victory of Narendra Modi led NDA, what could have been the cover and its write-up, if only as opposition especially Rahul Gandhi and his Congress party-expected defeat of NDA led by Modi was to happen?
Probably they too would have celebrated, like the bunch of jokers back in India. But that was not to be. However, what is really disturbing is how this TIME is oblivious of its own serious issues back home in the US? A Sacramento datelined report had this title “US policemen won’t face charges for killing unarmed black man”. We are in 21st century, post Obama presidential 8 years, and yet the life of a black is cheap in the US.
While police officers alibi that they thought he was pointing a gun at them, it turned out to be a cell phone. They shot him dead instead of immobilising him by shooting below the knee. Judge Anne Marie Schubert, justified the police shooting the 22 year old Stephen Clark seven times, as their act was within law. This white lady judge seems to think she is speaking to morons. This is a pretty serious human rights violation of American African Stephan Clark. Where is this Obama, who lectured on intolerance in India, when his own people are under fire only for being black, in this 21st century? This is United States of America for you.
While in West Bengal, it has won 18 of 42 seats, from a mere 2 seats. It has been a spectacular performance clearly giving the Mamata Bannerjee government palpable jitters. While campaigning, in her crude verbatim, she had asked the people to give Modi a democratic slap, instead it was reversed. She will regret her remark in days to come. In Odisha, it won 8, out of 21 seats from the just 1 seat it had in 2014. Arunachal Pradesh, it won both the seats, Assam it won 9 out of 14 seats. Tripura it won both seats.
Thus, from a position of only 11 seats in 2014, BJP walked away with 40 seats, that’s a huge surge of about 4 times of its 2014 seat share.
This increased seat share would not have come about without having done things which the locals felt comfortable about. This only proves, despite publicity to the contrary by media, opposition parties and other vested interest groups, people who had seen the past 5 years of NDA government has clearly foresees that the future lies with NDA led by BJP and its Mascot Narendra Modi.
Hope in South, like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where NDA has drawn blank for whatever reason, has to be studied and make the electorates understand that NDA and BJP are not untouchable. There were compulsions which led to the victory of Congress, DMK and YSR Congress. There are enough cases of corruption involving Jagan Mohan Reddy of YSR Congress, DMK and even Congress in Kerala. Have voters in A.P, T.N, and Kerala become thick skinned about corruption? Even Bihar has changed. They have thrown out RJD of Lalu Prasad Yadav without any trace.
NEW DELHI:News savvy Indians are privy to the ongoing investigation into the sexual harassment case by a junior lady staff against the highest judicial officer of the land, the Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi. It is a very serious charge besides, it’s understood that she could invoke even ST/SC act against the CJI. Clearly the woman in question realizes the enormity of the allegation she has leveled against the top man at the apex court.
Reportedly she was a typist-cum-librarian in the Supreme Court from 2014-2018, all of 35 years. On becoming CJI, Justice Ranjan Gogoi transferred the woman to his office-cum-residence. It is also reliably understood that he employed the handicapped brother-in-law of this lady as a court attendant.
Fact or fiction, woman alleged that the CJI made overtures towards her and she rebuffed. She also alleged that he dictated a note for her to sign that she wanted to behave inappropriately with him. Reportedly she remained absent on one of the day following the above incident. Using it as a ruse woman was sacked from court employment. Termination of handicapped brother-in-law followed. Was CJI vengeful?
There is a panel of Supreme Court judges going through the case. Initially it appeared they wanted to throw the complaint out by giving a clean chit to the CJI. But apparently there is backing to the complainant. The controversy is not going to die soon.
Around the same time, reportedly woman’s husband and his brother, who were Delhi police constables were dismissed without being given a chance to be heard, it is alleged. It may be unrelated, but apparently cannot be dismissed as such under the circumstances.
Legally speaking, there appears to be a huge roadblock to the woman’s case. CJI Ranjan Gogoi has to sanction an FIR against himself, without which case cannot go further, even if the panel of judges finds ground to recommend an FIR in the case.
So will the case go ahead with adequate speed or will it keep dragging with inexplicable hurdles, if there appears to be sufficient ground to establish the veracity of the complaint against the CJI?!
Or like a journalist cum lawyer puts it “It is more likely this scandal will die a natural death”. This is Yeh Mera India.
BIHAR:Justice and judgement appear to be more often in conflict. Many times they appear to be on opposite sides. If High Court has apparently rendered justice to some over four lakh teachers on contract, Supreme Court reversed it on technical ground.
Reportedly in October 2017, Patna High Court had held that not only these contractual teachers are eligible for salaries on par with permanent teachers on the basis of equal pay for equal work, they should also be regularized as permanent teachers.
Clearly these contract teachers, who were appointed by the Panchayats unlike regular teachers appointed by the government, are a harassed lot for many years. Not only they get very low salaries, they also do not get other benefits enjoyed by the regular teachers.
It may be true that regularization of over 4 lakh teachers may involve huge monthly payments; there is certainly scope for improvements. Supreme Court should have found some via-media to redress the problem.
Clearly Apex court has not understood the seriousness of the suffering of these teachers, while hearing the state government’s stand. It appreciated all the positives that has happened since the recruitment of these teachers at Panchayat level, the increased rate of literacy in general and girls in particular and how better literacy has improved the demography due to reduction in Total Fertility Rate (TFR) etc. Thus clearly contribution by these teachers is certainly positive and therefore has to be rewarded; a point apex court has clearly missed. If you do not look after these teachers, who are in all probability are as good if not better than regular teachers, how do you expect them to perform better. These justices, who sit on judgement to deliver justice should be put in the place of these teachers for a change to understand the pain of these suffering teachers.
Since the budgetary provision to regularize over 4 lakh teachers may not be available in short term, court should have asked the government to give a programme of regularization over a period of time with some adhoc increase in payment of salaries in the short term to bridge the disparity, would have not only helped the morale of teachers but also given some breathing space to the government. But clearly Apex court has failed in the objective treatment of the case. Contract teachers’ organization should go for a review of the apex court judgement.
WEST BENGAL:Arrest and subsequent release of BJP yuwa morcha leader Priyanka Sharma for allegedly sharing an FB photograph which was morphed. As expected BJP roundly criticized the intolerance of Mamata administration presided over by the queen bee. Fortunately there were others as well who blasted West Bengal government for their high handedness.
This wasn’t the first time; she or her police have acted brazenly. Former Press Council Chairman, Justice Katju had written to Mamata Bannerjee saying, she had “become increasingly intolerant and whimsical”. Reportedly, threat, intimidation and violence against political opponents, be it BJP, Congress or Left Front has become unfortunately a norm with Mamata leadership.
Another serious dimension of the political development in West Bengal is the near break down of relation with centre. Especially dealing with BJP, her government has been denying permission to hold rallies or permission to land their helicopters. The latest refusal to talk to Prime Minister when he called to discuss the damage and impact of Fani Cyclone, is the height of arrogance on the part of Mamata, especially, when her counterpart in Odissa joined hands with the centre by presiding over a joint meeting with PM Modi, when he called on Cuttack to discuss the Cyclone Fani. What can happen?, post election result has to be waited and seen.
MAHARASHTRA: Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, by its very name is a vital connectivity for villages across India. To reach or to access any service like, health, market, school and many other essential services needed by any human habitation, the road connectivity is extremely important.
These road constructions necessarily will have large and small machineries which include concrete mixer machines and water tanker etc.
A news report datelined Nagpur has reported “Naxals torch mixer machines and water tankers in Gadchiroli”. This is clearly the height of lunacy. These culprits, who call themselves as protectors of marginalised are truly enemies of people and anti-nationals. They must be caught by the police or the security forces and jailed for life with intermittent denial of food and water to experience firsthand the suffering of tribals. After all they have destroyed machineries meant for infrastructure development for the benefit of tribal. What ideological madness is this to burn down machineries meant for essential road works?
Reportedly this has happened in Karka village of Gadchiroli district. The road under construction was meant to connect some 20 remote villages in the area. With this destruction of machineries there will be inevitable delay in realizing development potential for tribals of the area. This is a sad and bad development. Naxals must be wiped out from the surface of the earth.
MAHARASHTRA: There can be nothing more traumatic for a young girl, just 10 years old, to be sexually assaulted by her own father.
Trial court in Satara had convicted the accused Baban Rathore, for a 10 year rigorous imprisonment for raping his 10 year old daughter. He had managed to obtain the bail, and while being out, he along with his wife had pressured his daughter to turn hostile. However trial court had relied upon the medical evidence while convicting the accused.
Accused approached Bombay High Court saying that his daughter has contradicted the charge. But Justice Sadhana Jadhav stating that court cannot be oblivious to the fact and circumstances of the case and therefore confirmed the sentence of 10 years imprisonment to the accused. Bench observed that the “offence committed by Baban Rathore is not only a heinous offence but shatters the image of paternity in the eyes of daughter. She could bear the physical pain but would be living with an injury to her psyche” while adding “the biggest trauma would be that she was not even supported by her mother and was expected to lie before the court. This is a scar forever on human relation”.
Court was absolutely right in rejecting the appeal of the accused, which on the basis of contradictory statement by the victim had the potential of miscarriage of justice.
This is an eye opener for all girls to stay firm if their persona has been attacked without their consent.
MAHARASHTRA: Bombay High Court has warned the BJP led government not to interfere in democratic process, informs a report datelined Mumbai.
Now that the Bharatiya Janatha Party or BJP has won a national referendum under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, this warning becomes more relevant.
Reportedly at the behest of a BJP councilor in Bhiwandi-Nizampur City Municipal Corporation, BJP government had disqualified four nominated councilors without assigning any reason.
Four councilors, aggrieved at their disqualification, approached Bombay High Court. Taking note of the facts and circumstances, Justice Dharmadhikari opined, that the individual councilor who had issues to settle with these four nominated councilors used his party, which is running the government in Maharashtra, to suspend these councilors. Both misused their position when there are other avenues available for the individual councilor belonging to BJP, court reiterated, while stating that “We are of the firm opinion that the impugned order is ex-facie illegal, arbitrary and deserve to be set aside. It is vitiated by colourable exercise of power.” Justice Dharmadhikari concluded.
This kind of a rap is needed when government in its earnestness to please its members goes overboard and does acts which are prima facie wrong and illegal. Hope governments everywhere take this seriously.
MAHARASHTRA: How barbaric police can get anywhere in India does not require examples. There are far too many of them.
Sometime in September 2018, CBI judge in Kerala awarded death sentence to two police officers for the custodial death of a young man, Uday Kumar, 26 then. This happened around end of September 2005. It took 13 long years, but it came after all. For the first time police were made accountable anywhere in India and were awarded death sentence with CBI judge remarking “they deserve no clemency, they killed an innocent person in their custody”.
Now, here is a case from Mumbai. A family of a teenager Sachin Ravindra Jaiswar, is refusing to take the body of their son who was tortured to death by the Dharavi police for the alleged theft of a mobile phone. It happened on 12th July 2018. Police picked him up and tortured, the 17 year old, to confess and released him in unconscious state.
He was admitted to Sion Hospital, on 13th July. He died on 27th July, the body was shifted to the mortuary of JJ Hospital. After nine months, the family is refusing to take the body waiting for justice.
The family is demanding an FIR against the officers of Dharavi Police Station. Boy’s father Ravindar Jaiswar, a painter, says “They took my son at night and beaten him badly because of which he died. They do not have any evidence in the case. They forced my son to confess to the crime, but he refused to do so and they tortured him”. Reportedly case has been transferred to CBI. But apparently nothing serious is happening with CBI office, with usual response of “investigation is going on”, every time Jaiswal calls on them to know the progress.
The family is right in refusing to take the body of the youth. In July last year, reportedly BSP had taken up the case. But being election time party could have had their own priorities. Meanwhile there’s no one to wipe the tears of a mother who lost her young son to the police brutality.
Where are children’s rights activists, human rights organizations, PUCL etc?
No, something has to happen to bring the police criminals to books, in this brutal death of 17 year old Sachin Jaiswar, in their custody. Will it happen! Oh poor Mother India!
MAHARASHTRA: Sometime one fails to understand our society. Just outside a temple, an elderly women being thrashed only because she was feeding stray cats, which ostensibly crossed the way of the accused! In a temple there are so many so-called devotees, at a place like up-market Peddar Road in Mumbai and they do not come to the rescue of this lady senior citizen being beaten! This is incredible.
Why have we lost our sense of proportion? At least they could shout for the crowd to gather, instead of being passive spectators! How can we call ourselves civilized if we cannot protect vulnerable!
Reportedly outside the temple, the accused was kicking these stray cats and one Ms. Maya Mohnani a senior citizen stopped him. He foul mouthed her and beat her up; she called out to her son who was in the vicinity. When he intervened along with another gentleman who was reportedly an animal welfare officer, matter worsened with some 3 men attacking them and nobody else intervened. Soon thereafter they ran away. Somehow the son and the animal welfare officer managed to catch a guy and took his mobile and photographed him. In the melee officer sustained a fracture. In the meanwhile even third accused managed to slip.
As usual police in Gamdevi police station initially refused to register a case, but on insistence from the animal welfare officer they have registered the case. Sadly police did not know that there existed a law for prevention of cruelly to animals. This is Yeh Mera India.
MAHARASHTRA: Have you ever heard of bouncers being used by Municipal Corporations at a hefty cost to evict illegal hawkers? But the joke is, despite spending Rs. 57 lakhs, paid to a manpower agency for a period of 3 months, to clear the menace of hawkers occupying public space like footpath and even roads, hawkers continue to mock Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC).
Clearly something is wonky, not straight, funny etc.
Hawkers anywhere in the world like to take the law into their hands and occupy any space which suites them to reach their customers. So India or MBMC is no different. Mira Road and Bhayandar are two suburbs of megalopolis Mumbai. It has developed into a huge concrete jungle giving residential flats to Mumbai’s ever increasing workforce.
Two suburban railway networks of Central Railway and Western Railway has made Mumbai city ever on the vertical growth along the railway lines.
To cater to the growing population of residents in Mira Road and Bhayandar on the Western Railway there has to be availability of goods and services. With huge migrating crowd, hawking is one of the easier avenue of employment and therefore when you can’t pay rent or when you want it free, occupying public space is a norm, rightly or wrongly. But then you have a semblance of administration like municipalities in urban areas, which are supposed to regulate it.
The size of the population in both Mira Road & Bhayandar is so large, civic administration had to be a corporation. Thus came about MBMC, since both these railway stations are next to each other.
Here comes this management of the corporation activities and giving the citizens a sense of law and order.
Management has civic staff at different levels including a commissioner, an IAS, and lording over them is elected political class, Corporators belonging to different political parties. Everybody needs a source of income. Civic staff gets salary, so are the corporators along with their perks, if any.
So they all have a source of income, but some are more hungry than others. They are the real rotten apples. You find them everywhere, especially in India.
Thus this story of Rs. 57 lakhs paid to the manpower agency going waste should not truly surprise us Indians. This money was paid by the MBMC after adequate deliberations but the bouncers employed by the manpower agency have failed to stem this menace of illegal hawkers.
Apparently none appear to be worried about this waste of public money and hawkers continue to make life of ordinary citizens miserable in MBMC area. Probably as a print media member reported “While roads tagged as ‘No Hawkers Zone’ have remained only on paper, the glaring link between hawkers, politicians, civic personnel and contractors has become apparent”. This is Yeh Mera India.
MAHARASHTRA: Mumbai police should be hauled up and those who caused the death of a teenage boy Sachin Jaiswar in Dharavi Police Station should be hauled up over the burning coal. They deserve no sympathy.
On alleged theft of a cell phone this 17 year old was taken into the custody, after over 27 hours they returned the unconscious Sachin Jaiswar to his parents. He died in Sion Hospital without recovering. Reportedly, he was tortured on the night of 12th July 2018, on 13th night he was admitted to the hospital by his parents in an unconscious state. He died on 27th July. His body is still in JJ hospital mortuary and his parents are refusing to take the body, because Dharavi police refused to file an FIR against its officers.
Now Dharavi police is refusing to provide even CC TV footage of 12th July 2018 under RTI, the night when young Sachin was tortured for an alleged theft of a mere cell phone. Parents of Sachin Jaiswar must, with the help of some NGOs, file a Habeas Corpus writ in the Bombay High Court and get those cruel policemen presented before the adjudicators of justice.
Nothing short of death sentence, as given by the Kerala High Court to two senior police officers for the death of a youth in police custody, should be given to these terrorists in uniform from the Dharavi Police Station.
Do you hearken Mr. Home Minister of Maharashtra?!
KERALA: A writer in the print media titled his piece, post Muslim Education Society’s circular banning face veil – niqab, “KERALA VEIL BAN: SIGN OF UNREST WITHIN”.
Doesn’t matter who the writer is, but the title is completely wrong. The title could have been KERALA VEIL BAN: SIGNOF OPENNESS WITHIN, or KERALA VEIL BAN: SIGN OF CHANGING TIMES. Why writers should think there is unrest within the Kerala Muslim society? Why don’t you give them positive marks! There will always be resistance to the change. But change is the most certain thing. And all those, who are interested in the social welfare should support the MES President Dr. PA Faisal Gafoor. And the good news is he is not alone, he has supporters to his move to ban ‘niqab’ within college premises. He has law on his side as well. Society needs to stand behind such bold souls, who stand up against fundamentalists. The film ‘Secret Super star’ should be extensively shown in Kerala College campuses to send home the message.
According to Dr. Faisal Gafoor, this kind of dress is least suited to Kerala’s climate and it breeds dangerous bacteria, putting the health of women wearing burqa at great risk.
However opposition to the move by Dr. Faisal Gafoor is largely from clerics who are brainwashing youth especially in college campuses. Kerala is witness to the truth that hundreds of Kerala youth have sacrificed their lives in the killing fields of terrorist destinations like, Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq as they were brain washed with the promise of heaven if they die defending their faith. This business of enjoying in heaven is all rubbish. We do not know, if heaven or hell exists. But when we die only our soul leaves, leaving the body back where you breath your last. To enjoy pleasure of so-called heaven you need body with skin intact, which soul has left behind. So how can a formless soul enjoy! It is all fooling gullible people with the promise of heaven, which nobody knows where it is in the first place, if at all it is there. Therefore it is best that educational institutions take the lead in making these youth aware of their responsibility to themselves, their society and the country. The state, as a matter of law and order, must come to the help of Dr. Gafoor so that no untoward incident happens in MES.
According to some reliable sources, a new sense is dawning on the community especially among its moderate sections that it cannot turn a blind eye to whatever is happening to some of its youth. There is widespread belief that religious and cultural leaders of the community have failed their people in providing leadership and guidance to the youth going astray.
Community, in the larger interest of its society in particular and the country in general, follow leadership of likes of Dr. Gafoor, in helping the youth to correct their misguided ways to become more responsible for themselves as good citizens. Hope, the new dawn does not slip into an illusion.
KERALA: India is replete with agenda driven publications. The WEEK, the weekly from Kochi also suffers from this kind of a syndrome. In their May 19 issue, they had published an interview with the ‘on the run’ televangelist Zakir Naik. We wrote a letter to this effect to The WEEK which they have not published. Reproduced here is the letter, and we quote.
Poor choices
Your cover story of the man who is a fugitive from Indian law is in poor taste. And you call it scoop. Rubbish.
Especially, after Sri Lanka has banned the channel where this man called Zakir Naik was being aired, your cover photo has sent a wrong signal.
After all who is he, an evangelist, spreading Islam, the so-called religion of peace!
We are already hearing rumblings even in Malaysia where he is now located, about his being unwelcome. Your choice is poor.
There were many, where I could have contradicted, but limiting for only one more. Under POINT BLANK you gave precedence to what Chhattisgarh CM Baghel saying. After all he, an older man, touched the feet of Rahul Gandhi for making him the CM.
He has to say what pleases his party boss and family for he is obliged to him & family. This again is a poor choice at the top of POINT BLANK. Clearly you are agenda driven.
J.Shriyan
WORLD: Centre for Disease Dynamics Economics & Policy (CDDEP) in the United States has come up with a report ‘India facing shortage of 6 lakh doctors & 20 lakhs nurses’ suggesting that shortage of doctors and support staff is preventing patients from accessing life saving drugs. But the problem is accessing life saving drugs is hugely expensive.
The problem is not only due to the high cost of medicine supplied by private pharma companies, but also because government spending on health is less, unlike many other developing economies. In India 65% of health expenditure is out of pocket and report informs that such expenditure pushes some 57 million into poverty each year.
While it is true that there is a shortage of doctors and nurses, the problem of affordability and availability at affordable prices of both services and medicine are a stumbling block in the improved health indices within the country.
There has to be more medical colleges both in government sector as well in private sector so that more doctors are produced. More college shall also mean lower fees and therefore services can become automatically less expensive. This can also become an avenue for more employment, since the report informs that there is a shortage of some 2 million nurses. So opening more colleges and producing more nurses, to cater to the increasing number of medical colleges and hospitals would certainly lead to multiplier effect. Hope it happens.
WORLD: It’s a one of a kind initiative from an unlikely place. Print media datelined Dubai informs that a “Largest e-waste recycling plant opens in Dubai”. From the details available in the public space it looks like a win-win business proposal.
Located at Dubai Industrial Park, the 280,000 square feet plant will process Electrical & Electronic Equipment Waste (EEEW). The facility can process an entire range of EEEW from consumer, industrial, commercial, and military computer hardware. It’s a US$5 million project backed by the Swiss Government Export Finance Agency informs the report. Information Technology Asset Disposal, Refrigerant Gas and other specialised waste are some other inputs for the recycling unit. According to Gulf News, the facility will utilize, state-of- the -art reclamation technology which surpasses even the European Union standard for e-waste disposal, and has a capacity of processing of 100,000 tonnes of total integrated waste per year.
It’s indeed a very commendable initiative for a country like Dubai. According to Saud Abu Al Shawareb, Managing Director of Dubai Industrial Park , “The launch is a reflection of the UAEs journey towards becoming a global platform that attracts innovative business and a successful model of the new Green Economy”. Kudos to the leadership of UAE for this unique development.
WORLD; Only a few weeks ago New York based TIME magazine wrote the obituary of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as THE DIVIDER IN CHIEF OF INDIA, comes this summersault. In the latest issue of TIME, there is an article which claims “No Prime Minister has united the Indian electorate as much in close to five decades”. So two weeks ago he is DIVIDER IN CHIEF and two weeks later it is a complete U turn calling Prime Minister Modi as the unifier of India.
That’s inexplicably surprising. India is a complex country beyond the comprehension of usual journos looking only for sensation, especially likes of Aaatish Taseer, a Pakistani, who wrote the epitaph THE DIVIDER IN CHIEF.
If this U turn is post the unprecedented victory of Narendra Modi led NDA, what could have been the cover and its write-up, if only as opposition especially Rahul Gandhi and his Congress party-expected defeat of NDA led by Modi was to happen?
Probably they too would have celebrated, like the bunch of jokers back in India. But that was not to be. However, what is really disturbing is how this TIME is oblivious of its own serious issues back home in the US? A Sacramento datelined report had this title “US policemen won’t face charges for killing unarmed black man”. We are in 21st century, post Obama presidential 8 years, and yet the life of a black is cheap in the US.
While police officers alibi that they thought he was pointing a gun at them, it turned out to be a cell phone. They shot him dead instead of immobilising him by shooting below the knee. Judge Anne Marie Schubert, justified the police shooting the 22 year old Stephen Clark seven times, as their act was within law. This white lady judge seems to think she is speaking to morons. This is a pretty serious human rights violation of American African Stephan Clark. Where is this Obama, who lectured on intolerance in India, when his own people are under fire only for being black, in this 21st century? This is United States of America for you.
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