MONTH-IN-PERSPECTIVE-May 2022

NEW DELHI: Sometime in May 2021, Waseem Rizwi had approached the Supreme Court with a PIL. In his PIL Rizwi had alleged that there are 26 verses or suras in Quran that promotes violence and therefore they should be removed from the Holy Book. But strangely learned judges of the highest court of the land dismissed it off hand, by terming the PIL as ‘an absolutely frivolous petition’ and fined him Rs. 50,000/- for refusing to withdraw it. The decision of the bench chaired by Justice Rohinton Nariman was patently wrong in dismissing the petition without hearing him and it was prima facie high-handed to penalize him by Rs. 50000/- for refusing to withdraw the petition. It was in his full senses that Waseem Rizwi had refused to withdraw his petition and hence paid the fine. It is another matter, eventually Waseem Rizwi decided to leave his faith of over 50 years and he did leave, as if to say “hell with your judgment”. He could probably have remained a Muslim if court had heard him and there was interlocution on the issue. Sadly that was not to happen. And comes this judgment from Delhi High Court, “Khalistan link: HC junks plea against Kejriwal” was a report datelined Delhi. A Congress leader Jagdish Sharma had filed a PIL in Delhi High Court, charging that Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP convener and CM of Delhi, ‘has connection with Khalistan outfit and it should be investigated’. In their wisdom the learned judges of Delhi High Court Justice Vipin Sanghi & Justice Naveen Chawla dismissed the petition terming it completely frivolous. The question is, why do judges have this ‘Holier than thou attitude’? These courts are supposedly champions of free press, freedom of expression etc. So what is wrong with the stand Jagdish Sharma is taking? Why don’t you hear him out! After giving him hearing then, if you are convinced, dismiss his writ. But to dismiss it off hand, sends bad signal! While, it may be true that former Chief Minister of Punjab has already written to the Ministry of Home Affairs and this matter is with the MoH, what if a citizen wants him to be heard by the court, what is wrong with it especially when there is no guarantee that MoH will act! NEW DELHI:There was this report datelined New Delhi “Compensation in 104 sewer cleaning deaths pending: Parliament Panel”. ‘Prohibition of Employment of Manual Scavengers and Rehabilitation Act 2013’ was enacted with good intentions. But sadly like Robert Lynd says, “Good Resolutions are the virtues of April with No September following”, it has remained mostly on paper. If prevention and rehabilitation has been the core of the act, the non-payment of solatium to the dead in the man-hole or the sewer, is a reflection of the height of criminal apathy and insensitivity. Manual scavengers dying inside the manhole has a long history in India. Every month somewhere in Indian city someone dies, and just goes into statistics. The practice of employing poor workers to do manual cleaning of drains and manholes has been an ongoing exercise despite there being laws to the contrary, an extension of the principle of “Crying with the poor but siding with the rich”. There are committees formed in states and centre to go into the social justice and empowerment of lowly placed personnel in government employment. But sadly it does not have teeth to enforce the recommendation or to rectify the failure of government department or municipalities. There are provisions in the law to financially compensate for the loss of life of any workmen while working on drains and manholes. Since these workmen are bread winners of the family the compensation has to come fast. But sadly in India after 75 years of freedom, irresponsible and insensitive system, consisting of babus & politicians, has put paid to the vision of a welfare state where poor have either stagnated at BPL or became poorer. To think that the panel expressed its shock and disbelief at the non-payment of compensation by even rich states like Maharashtra with the richest Municipal Corporation of Mumbai, (MCM) “has declined to pay compensation due to scarcity of funds”. The last budget of MCM was for an outlay of around Rs. 46000/- crores, and they don’t have money to pay, a mere Rs. 10 lakhs, for its men who died cleaning its shit. What a sad state of being born poor in India?! However the fact of the matter is no government, state or centre, has taken the issue-seriously of stopping the practice of manual scavenging and the rehabilitation of these workmen. Central government, which is supposed to have plans and programmes under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is also not serious about the issue. The union budget provision have been continuously on the decline, indicating the lack of seriousness the entire government machinery displaying on an issue of such grave human dimension. That is a sad reflection of the ‘welfare’ mind set of our governance. Indeed it’s a curse to be born poor in India. While being on the subject it may not be out of place to quote the incident involving mega contractor Larsen & Toubro the main contractor on Navami Gange Project in Bihar. Two young work men, Saddam Hussien and Iqbal Hussien died cleaning the manhole sometime in May 2021. Compensation for their death is still not received by the family of the deceased. BIHAR: Teachers, all over India, being made to work on non-teaching jobs is a well known dimension of educational scene within the country. Why they are made to work on such jobs is not clearly known, except to save some cost! Any state government has its own regular staff that is hardly productive. They could have been used by the government for such jobs. They are never used for jobs other than their government office jobs. It’s an open secret that a vast majority of government staff hardly work. They come late, go early and enjoy all benefits of a secure job with good pay, and are rarely accountable, but never used like Teachers, Anganwadi workers or ASHA workers. These Teachers, Anganwadi workers and ASHA workers are easy targets. At least regular government teachers get government grade salary, but Anganwadi & ASHA workers sadly are an exploited lot. Be that as it may, comes, this report from Bihar. A Patna datelined report “Bihar Teachers refuse to work as spies of Prohibition Department”, informs that for once, teachers in Bihar decided to call it ‘enough is enough’. According to the report, Additional Chief Secretary, education department, Sanjay Kumar issued a circular on January 30, to all regional directors of education, district education officers and programme officers directing them to instruct the teachers of Primary Schools, Secondary Schools and Higher Secondary Schools, so also Urdu Medium Schools in Bihar to work as spies of the prohibition department and help identify the tipplers in their areas. According to the circular, teachers are to collect information about the people involved in consumption and business of liquor then pass on the information to the given mobile numbers of the Prohibition Department. So also teachers have been asked not to allow misuse of school premises for consumption and storage of liquor. The district officers have been directed to take help of Shiksha Sewaks (non-regular government staff) in creating awareness. All have been assured of secrecy of identity. Prima facie, the whole move is not just shocking but obnoxious to say the least. How can anyone in the administration even think that teachers, who are supposed to teach values to students, be engaged as spies on law breakers, especially drunkards! No wonder, the Bihar Rajya Prathamik Shikshak Sangh has decided to publicly burn the circular. Hope the images of this burning of circular sends appropriate signal to the state administrative apparatus. Its time teachers assert themselves and tell the administration to use the under-employed staff of different government departments across the state, whenever need arises for such engagements. May be teachers can spend more productive hours with students in school, rather than endure the forced labour by morons in the administration. While on the subject of exploiting teachers, it is pertinent to inform that in July 2021, the Director of Mid-day Meal scheme in Bihar, Satish Chandra Jha too had sent a circular to all teachers in the state directing them to sell gunny bags @ Rs.10/- each and deposit the money in government treasury. These sacks were the leftover of grain and other food items delivered at school under the Mid-day Meal scheme. Sadly, report informs, that these teachers were seen carrying these gunny bags on their shoulders in market place at different locations of the state. Can Bihar ever change from its infamous tag of BIMARU state! MAHARASHTRA:The print media report “Hanuman Chalisa row: MP/MLA sent to 14 days judicial custody” made a disturbing reading, as if it has happened in Pakistan. Navneet Rana is a Member of Parliament from Amravati, Maharashtra and Ravi Rana, her husband, is an MLA in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. According to the information available in public space, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, a breakaway group from Shiv Sena, led by Bal Thackeray’s nephew Raj Thackeray, had given an ultimatum to remove loudspeakers from Mosques by May 3. The issue of Aazaan from mosque, 5 times a day, starting as early as 4:30 in the morning has been a universal problem. Many liberals among Muslims have echoed the sentiments of non-Muslims that this practice is possible to be toned down, if not stopped altogether. The fact that the loudspeakers have come only some 400+ years ago does not make the case of use of loudspeakers in Mosque stronger. The fact, that Aazaan was going on without loudspeakers for a whole millennium also make for either scrapping or reducing the frequency of loudspeaker usage. There is a Mumbai High Court judgment available since many years, where-in HC has restricted the usage of loudspeakers between 10 p. m & 6 a.m. This was never enforced. The petitioner in this case was a Muslim gentleman. Government in Maharashtra should look at the High Court judgment once again to enforce this restriction. Coming to Hanuman Chalisa Raj Thackeray had threatened to recite Hanuman Chalisa outside mosque, if loudspeakers are not removed. Frankly, issue here should not be loudspeaker, per se, but its limited or restricted usage, not only in terms of time but also in terms of locations and areas, like schools, hospitals, old age homes etc. Inspired by Raj Thackeray’s threat, the couple from Amravati demanded that the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray, a close relation of Raj Thackeray, recite Hanuman Chalisa on Hanuman Jayanthi Day, failing which they will recite Hanuman Chalisa in front of Uddhav Thackeray’s residence. The couple's statement did cause minor law and order problem, with some people flocking Thackeray residence. But, the couple did not go ahead with their plan instead an FIR was filed and couple arrested on grounds of sedition. It baffles simple logic, how reciting Hanuman Chalisa can be treated on seditious. One can understand the politics and political expediency of the state police, complying with the desire of political leadership of the state. But what about Judiciary! Judiciary should not suffer from perceptive logic. Courts go by ground realities and not imagination. Courts do not have the liberty to imagine and act. Courts’ actions too can be challenged on the grounds of individual freedom. Whatever other legal ‘causa proxima’ are there for court to consider, sedition is simply not the option. The couple should approach Apex Court for proper hearing and justice. KARNATAKA: The news that Karnataka Minister Easwarappa may, after all, resign his ministership, taking moral responsibility for the death of contractor Santosh Patil, has only blown the wind out of this sordid saga of sickening corruption that has made its presence, loud and clear, in the corridors of the party with a difference. Probably it was a first of a kind, where a group of contractors from Karnataka represented the issue of 40% commission on government contracts, to the PMO for redressal. The party, with NaMo as the leading light of this party with a difference, led the 2014 Loksabha election to the portals of parliament on an anti-corruption plank. It was an emphatic victory by any standard. Coming as it did, as a single party majority, after over 30 years of coalition governments. NaMo had single handedly ‘cocked the snook’, at the combined might of opposition and emerged victorious and proved it again in 2019 to confirm that it wasn’t a fluke in 2014. Yes, without any shadow of doubt NaMo represents a uniquely different kind of leadership, unseen hitherto, anywhere in the world. No wonder he has been able to bring India to the centre stage of the happening world. Equally, without doubt, he has his personality issues. He is clearly a dominating figure in the BJP landscape, does not take kindly any defiance. It is his personal attributes of Spartan food habits, absence of human failings like, wine, woman, wealth and life style of working for long hours without any holiday break has endeared himself to the masses. He is BJP’s Numero Uno vote getter. So, those who want to remain in power circle play along to live another day. After all most success stories have its own share of compromises and adjustments. That is probably the reason that NaMo puts up with stories of corruption in his party and its governments, waiting for an opportune time to strike and strike hard. Remember Eknath Khadse of Maharashtra, a known strongman with his own mass following. He was dumped unceremoniously for acquiring assets far in excess of his known source of income. He is still struggling hard to settle down in the eluding tomorrows. Easwarappa had all the chances of saving himself and the life of Santosh Patil, who committed suicide out of sheer helplessness. He could have heard the cry of helplessness, when Santosh earlier wrote to PMO, met Union Panchayat Minister Giriraj Singh, met Party General Secretary BL Santosh to convey his anguish. But Easwarappa decided to play truant and ignored the groaning and moaning of those contractors who worked on those 100+ contracts in the Hindala Gram Panchayat outside Belgavi. Reportedly, the Panchayat President Nagesh Manolkar had confirmed the jobs having been done but still unpaid. Sometime the over confidence that nothing can go wrong ‘does them in’. The anatomy of this 40%, understandably works like this. Many jobs which are not tendered openly but given to some select contractors begin with the instruction to start the job with an estimate of some kind. Some 15% or so is paid upfront to the person giving the verbal instruction to commence the job. Immediately thereafter paper work follows, so that the contractor is protected and this guarantees the performance from the contractor. Of course the quid-pro-quo, you scratch my back and I scratch yours, goes on to live forever during the currency of the government. By the time payment is received by the contractors the remaining 25% is distributed along the way to the clearance of bills. But then all governments are same, ask HD Deve Gowda, who was also a former PWD contractor, before being Chief Minister of Karnataka and then PM of India for 10 months and 21 days. His son HD Kumaraswamy will vouch for it. So, it’s the general public who end up paying for these politicians and PWD contractors, besides the bad quality of job performed in 60% contract value. May be the resignation of Easwarappa signals the end of his political life, it has created space for someone hopefully better than him, or is it too much to hope. Surprisingly RSS being the mai-baap of BJP really couldn’t do much to clean the stable of black sheeps among them. Hope they take pro-active role in cleaning the mess created by politicians who were earlier swayamsevaks of RSS. KARNATAKA:A report datelined Hospet (Vijayanagar) “BJP plans programs to expose Congress’s Hijab stand”, has instead exposed the party with a difference. The opposition parties are crying hoarse on Santosh Patil suicide and 40% commission charge. That’s the issue the party has to take it head on, not hijab. Congress has already demanded the ban on SDPI & PFI for the misplaced hijab hype. Thus there is no steam left to fight for hijab. Now 40% commission and Santosh Patil death is the hot issue. Don’t run away. There are blacksheeps in the party, accept it and try to make amends. Election to Karnataka Assembly is not very far. So, best course available is to clean your stable. The report “7 teams to probe Patil’s death”, indicate the importance the government is giving to the issue. So do not try to side track. There may be more heads to roll. Because other parties too have done it, it does not give license for you to chase commission. Corruption in PWD contracts is well known all over the country. No state or party is free from this gargantuan malady. But you are supposedly a party with a difference. Your top man NaMo is a clean man when it comes to corruption. You have no choice except to follow his example. There are only 2 factors helping BJP, at the hustings all over India, where BJP has a foothold, NaMo factor and the increasing number of Hindus, who have switched loyalty from other parties, for those parties’ failure to be fair with the majority community. These two factors will certainly help in the short run. But, sooner the party with a difference proves itself as truly a party with difference the better. No future can be guaranteed otherwise for the party. 2024 Loksabha election may still favour BJP led NDA, but 2023 election to Karnataka assembly can be dicie. So take care. Voters are not idiots. Like the adage, you can fool some people all the time but not all the people all the time, holds good. KARNATAKA:Anywhere in the world Homo sapiens would like to perpetuate the memory of their beloved sons of the soil by naming after them long lasting structures, infrastructures, utility buildings and the likes. It's not unusual at all, for those who are only living in the memory, who have dead and gone are the favoured ones to be immortalised by these symbolic gestures. But, surprisingly and strangely, when the name of BS Yediyurappa was mentioned by no-less a person than the Chief Minister of Karnataka Basavaraj Bommai to name the Shivamogga Airport, it funnily smacked of political calculations. At least that was the general feeling felt by most Kannadigas. BS Yediyurappa is a former Chief Minister of Karnataka, for more than one term. He is also a disgruntled BJP senior functionary. He was, kind of, forced out of the office of CM under duress. He is therefore sulking in the wings. He is also capable of causing avoidable damage to the fortunes of BJP in the state. So just to placate him perhaps, this move was afoot, with the blessings of the party higher-ups. In the event however, BSY, came out literally shining from the funny imbroglio involving naming of yet to be completed Shivamogga Airport. Reportedly, he had remarked that CM Bommai should ‘rethink’ about the naming of the airport. BSY wrote a letter to the CM, “thanking him for the love and recognition showed on him”. The letter is understood to have mentioned about ‘several patriots and legends who have contributed to the development of the country and the state and are far more deserving’ than himself. While he mentions his ‘own contribution to be minimal as compared to other scores of legends’, he submitted that it is not appropriate for the government to name Shivamogga Airport after him. That’s a very honorable statement coming from the Karnataka strongman, his disappointment of quitting CM’s office notwithstanding! Two cheers to BSY. However it is pertinent to mention a similar incident a year ago that happened in Motera, Ahmedabad Gujarat. In their eagerness to please Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) had named the Motera Cricket Stadium as Narendra Modi Stadium. It was clearly a sacrilege when its original name was Sardar Patel Cricket Stadium. The expected dust blown in public space for the controversial move of GCA, has settled down at present. But NaMo in his wisdom did not go back to the GCA to tell them to respect the name of Sardar Patel and replace his name with that of the original IRONMAN. That sadly did not happen. Under the circumstances, the stand of BSY is exemplary. Hats off to Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yediyurappa!