The Trinamool Congress has alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Kedarnath visit is a violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). The party wrote to the Election Commission on Sunday regarding this.
Trinamool Congress spokesperson Derek O’Brien said in the letter, “The campaign for the last phase of polling for 2019 Lok Sabha elections is over on May 17 at 6 pm but Narendra Modi’s Kedarnath Yatra is being covered and widely televised for the last two days in all national as well as local media. This is a gross violation of the Model Code of Conduct.” He said that PM Modi announced that the master plan for the Kedarnath Temple is ready and also addressed the public and the media at the temple town. The TMC said that all these moves were well calculated with the “ill intention to influence the voters” on the polling day on May 19. It is remarkable that PM Modi reached Kedarnath on Saturday.
PM performs puja at Badrinath temple
PM Modi on Sunday paid obeisance and performed puja at Badrinath temple on the second day of his two-day visit to Uttarakhand. He reached Badrinath after spending around 20 hours in Kedarnath. Badrinath is another temple in Uttarakhand’s ‘char dham’ religious circuit. It is dedicated to Lord Vishnu.
By now you all must be very much excited and awaiting for election results. Everybody believes that 2019 elections will not be as simple a victory for BJP like that of 2014. More or less Prime Minister Narendra Modi has miserably failed on fulfilling his election promises. Moreover, his arrogance in attacking opposition was not very appealing to the people. No doubt, Modi is favourite leader of the most but people expect their leader to be more cultured. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is everyday accusing Modi of corruption in Rafale deal. Other parties also accuse Modi of promoting communalism and division in the society. All the eyes have turned towards UP and Smriti Irani. UP is having largest number of seats of Member of Parliament. Retaining UP’s maximum seat is big challenge ahead.
Last general elections in 2014, the nation went into a frenzy campaign mode from mid-2013 and Modi, who was announced the PM face of BJP in September, was doing rallies on a record pace. There was a strong anti-incumbency wave against Congress. The Congress folks were clueless, Manmohan Singh had said that he won’t take the third term, there was no consensus on their Prime Ministerial face and Congress put up a weak show against the BJP’s canvas of development and the strong image of Modi. But since 2014, the scenario is different. Modi came to power keeping his lavishes and extravagant talks but in reality he has failed on various fronts. Only one good thing he did was his own media management, the media that has accepted the slavery kept on praising him no matter what. By giving them scripted interviews Modi also managed damage control but he could not bring the change that he promised.
A voter who was unhappy with performance of the Vasundhara Raje government in Rajasthan is also unhappy with PM Modi. Similarly, those who voted for Congress in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh would not necessarily prefer Rahul Gandhi to Narendra Modi in 2019 polls. The close contests that we’ve just witnessed clearly show the absence of any major wave in favour of either party. What has played out, more likely, is anti-incumbency combined with a certain degree of fatigue for familiar faces.
Global brokerages did take a serious view of the election outcome but were not ready to give up on Narendra Modi yet, saying his party still has a bright chance of notching up an average majority in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The Modi factor still has the potential to change the political discourse in these three states in 2019; the popularity of PM Modi is way ahead of other politicians in these states including the outgoing chief ministers of BJP. Despite the anti-incumbency, the BJP’s vote share in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan was almost equal to the Congress, which emerged victorious. Party leaders believe that the National Democratic Alliance is intact and it will retain power at the Centre in 2019 under Modi’s leadership.
Even if this does not mean the end of the BJP’s poll prospects, the party has been given a strong wake-up call. They have to pull something else out of the bag to win big in 2019. That was an emotive construction of the Ram Mandir, another surgical strike, Pulwama attack and air strike. All this was done to garner some votes. And as I said, Modi in his campaign asked votes in the name of martyred jawans. This is where the BJP’s “x-factor,” NaMo, could make all the difference for his losing fate. We know that elections are not won only on the basis of actual deliverables on the ground or even on the basis of good governance or development alone. What is needed is a rallying point, a wave to cement the masses into a cohesive political force that backs one party. The most important takeaway has been that the Congress is very much in the political game, as India’s second largest national party, having staged an impressive come back. Will Rahul Gandhi, as a leader, be able to take his party from just presenting this neck-to-neck competition to a certain victory? This is yet to be seen.
Right now, there isn’t a strong anti-incumbency against the sitting Prime Minister. He may not be as popular a face for PM as he was in 2013 and 2014, but he still enjoys common popularity as being the leader India wants as its PM.
People still don’t have the faith in the Congress and its leaders. And there is no concrete third front build up as of now. The SP+BSP alliance which could seriously damage the prospects of BJP in UP is not clear. The regional satraps in Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and many other states swing. This, in short, hints towards a possible BJP swing in elections. BJP in all likelihood would not get a clear majority of 272+ seats as it got last time. The 60–90 number that Arun Shourie and many opposition strategists sounds like a ‘Black Swan’ moment (BJP winning 90 per cent seats in states which contribute 60 per cent strength of Lok Sabha or the Lower House of Parliament) isn’t happening. But, BJP could still manage 200+ seats, enough to cobble up an NDA alliance and install Modi as PM for the second term. Why the above scenario seems plausible is because Rahul Gandhi is no magnet that can pull off an amazing victory centering on him. Even by cobbling parties together in a pre-poll setup he might not cross 150 seats in all likelihoods making the halfway mark of 272 extremely tough for any Non-NDA government or alliance to form. He simply doesn’t spell out or perhaps possibly has a vision for India that the electorate can buy.
In short, I believe there are good prospects of a second NDA government. It won’t be the one with a full majority but one with a decent majority. BJP has seen its local and global maxima and it would be on a downward curve. But it is not yet as weak to be thrown in by a Congress with Rahul Gandhi or by a split third front with many big states not being part of it.
(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)
The six phases of 2019 general elections for the 17thLok Sabha are over and incidents of poll violence were witnessed in its every phase. The last phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections is due on May 19 and West Bengal has managed to engage all the eyeballs and take the centre stage in national political skull sessions with the latest conflict around the destruction of the statue of 19th century reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar on Tuesday following a widespread violence during BJP President Amit Shah’s roadshow in Kolkata. As per reports, the BJP workers and the student wing of Trinamool Congress clashed on Kolkata’s College Street, and as claimed by TMC, BJP workers allegedly barged into a college named after the social reformer (Vidyasagar College) and smashed a bust of the Bengal icon and renowned social reformer.Moreover, the political dogfight and violence have added colours to the locals versus outsiders conflict between the regional parties that include TMC and the opposition parties at one side and the Bharatiya Janata Party on the other. While the police reportedly have arrested 58 people for their involvement in the violence, the CM Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress claimed that most of them are not residents of Bengal.
On being asked to respond to Kolkata violence, Partha Chatterjee, senior Trinamool Congress leader and the Minister for Education and Parliamentary Affairs of West Bengal, said in conversation with Afternoon Voice, “BJP is responsible for the violence in Kolkata, we have proof. BJP is not going to get anything in West Bengal. TMC is number one party in the state and it will remain so. The Congress and the CPM are guilty for emergence of the BJP as prominent political force in West Bengal.”
The poll finale on May 19 to see voting for the nine of Bengal’s 42 Lok Sabha seats along with state capital Kolkata.All the political parties are driving their campaigning in full swing while the party at Centre, BJP managed to secure two LS seats from Bengal in 2014, keeping no stones unturned to strengthen its foothold in the state this time.
Debasree Chaudhuri, General Secretary of West Bengal BJP said, “Mamata Banerjee has a history of vandalism. People are aware of the style of agitation of Didi. She even vandalized in the state assembly. TMC supporters are engaged in vandalism in Kolkata to divert people’s attention. We could not damage the statue of social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. We, BJP workers are builder of statue.It is conspiracy of TMC. People of West Bengal are aware about this. They will punish the ruling party on May 19 in the state.”
In this crucial political atmosphere, when both the ruler and the challenger are in a neck-to-neck battle, the violence has angered the Bengalis while many took to social media and held the saffron party accountable for attacking the history and culture of the state.The regional political parties used the anti-BJP sentiment and launched their protests and attacks against the NarendraModi-led government.
The Congress MLA from Bankura Daripa Shampa said, “Kolkata violence is unfortunate for the democracy. Political parties should exercise restraint. People of the state will give their response through ballot.”
While Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee boldly targeted Amit Shah, Narendra Modi and their party for bringing in goons in the state to add fuel to initiate communal riots and division, Amit Shah claimed that Trinamool Congress workers themselves broke into clashes to create unrest in his rally, had smashed the statue, and blaming BJP instead to tarnish the image of the party and gain sympathy. The party in the centre had also asked the Election Commission to ban Mamata Banerjee from poll campaigning.
The CPM MLA from Raniganj Runu Datta said, “Both the Trinamool and the BJP are responsible for violence in Kolkata. Both parties are creating the chaos. In spite of these unfortunate incidents, CPM hopes for a peaceful voting on May 19 in West Bengal.”
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, who has brought great reforms in the Indian society, is recalled as a philosopher, writer, philanthropist, and a man who was ahead of his time.He holds a high place in every Bengali’s heart and was one of the key figures of the Bengal Renaissance; his standardised alphabet is used to write the Bengali language even today. He was vocal about the cause of widow remarriage and introduced the practice and pushed for the Widow Remarriage Act XV of 1856.
In a recent brief interview with an online new media, the Bengal Chief Minister refused the accusations against her party of involving in ruthlessness and stridently criticised the BJP for infusing violence during elections. Calling PM a ‘fascist’, ‘egoist’, ‘proudy’, and ‘adamant’, she said that Bengalis respect their sons of the soil and don’t fear to speak out boldly and strongly. She also said that the ones who think politics means goondaism, hooliganism must go from politics. On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, acknowledging the huge backlash after Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar’s statue was broken into pieces, promised to install his “grand statue” at the same spot and in its reply, CM Mamata rejected his proposal and said, “Bengal does not seek alms from BJP. We have the money for a new bust of Vidyasagar, who was part of Bengal Renaissance. Don’t you (BJP) feel ashamed saying that Bengal has been reduced to a state of being a pauper”?Banerjee referred to a comment by Shah at a poll rally at Canning earlier this week in which he had said that under Banerjee government “Sonar(golden) Bangla has become Kangal(pauper) Bangla”.
Addressing the first press conference of his tenure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed the Lok Sabha elections “spectacular” and expressed confidence of coming to power again.
“In my opinion, our full majority government will return to power, such a thing will happen after a long time in the country. It will happen after a long time in the country,” Modi told reporters.
Hailing India as the world’s largest democracy, Modi said that it is everyone’s duty to showcase the strength of this democratic system to the world.
“It should be a matter of appreciation for the world, the variations we have in our democratic system,” Modi said at his maiden press conference as Prime Minister.
Modi thanked the people of the country, “I am overwhelmed with the support that I got. I want to thank the people for all the love and support,” he said.
Party president Amit Shah, at the same dais, affirmed that their party will run the government for a second term.”We are confident that we’ll receive good results.” he said.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi was addressing a parallel press conference where he took potshots at Modi and termed his media address “unprecedented”.
Elections to 59 parliamentary constituencies will be held on May 19 in the seventh and last round of national polls. Counting of votes for all 543 seats will take place on May 23.
Priests and staff in temples should also be offered government-salary
It refers to media-reports about Imams and some other staff in mosques in Delhi getting an increased salary from the Delhi government. There is no harm in the step if same provision is made for priests and staff in temples of Hindus and other religions.
It is a bitter reality that priests in most Hindu temples especially the smaller ones inside narrow streets spend life below-poverty-line. It is irony that the devotees usually search for coins of smallest denominations to offer at these small temples. A survey should be made throughout Delhi, and priests and other staff should be paid salaries equivalent to those being given to Imams and other staff of mosques in true secular spirit so that poor priests of temples may also have a better life.
MadhuAgrawal
Mumbai breathes second cleanest air in 2019
Mumbai city is breathing second cleanest air in 2019. Pollution level dips to a new low as we receive sufficient air to clear the air and to make the city cool to some extent. The clean air news came for the second time and it is time to have greater control over air pollution. We expect that the typical phenomenon during monsoon, when the first showers wash away pollutants and dust suspended close to the earth’s surface. We pray that early monsoon season will bring reduced air distress in Mumbai city.
C.K. Subramaniam
EPFO funds must be safeguarded
Life savings of salaried class may be in danger of becoming extinct as Finance Ministry questions Employees Provident Fund Organisation if it has surplus to pay interest. People’s hard earned money gets deposited in EPFO which should never be given as loans to private groups. EPFO’s exposure to the troubled IL&FS group is an matter of grave concern. Everybody is aware of IL&FS being on the verge of bankruptcy and govt should put their machinery into place to recover whatever EPFO funds give to the defunct group so that salaried class does not get hit much.
EPFO balance sheet must be clean and transparent with investments in government securities that have the government’s guarantee. Also, EPFO interest rates should be reasonable so that the organisation does not need to invest in risky assets where there are chances of defaults. Same holds good for PPF where lakhs of crores of people’s money is lying and extreme caution is needed to safeguard people’s funds which are saved for post-retirement needs!
S.N. Kabra
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
The Supreme Court on Friday vacated its order granting protection from arrest to former Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar in the Saradha chit fund scam case. It is seen as a jolt to West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee just before voting of the seventh and last phase of the Lok Sabhaelections, which is due on May 19. Now CBI can arrest Rajeev Kumar who is considered very close to Mamata Banerjee.
The apex court said that its order on February 5 granting interim protection to Rajeev Kumar will continue for seven days from Friday to enable him to approach the competent court for legal remedy. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked the CBI to act in accordance with the law in the case. An advocate of Rajeev Kumar said that as per the apex court order, Kumar cannot be arrested in the next seven days.
The central agency had sought custodial interrogation of Rajeev Kumar on the grounds that he had given evasive replies during questioning. However, on April 30, the Supreme Court ordered the CBI to submit evidence to establish its claim of Kumar’s involvement in the scam.
The Supreme Court’s directive came after Rajeev Kumar’s counsel argued that the agency wanted his custodial interrogation “just to humiliate” him and the CBI should not be allowed to abuse the process of law. He labelled the CBI’s plea a “malafide exercise”.
The CBI had interrogated Kumar in February in Meghalaya’s capital Shillong about his alleged role in tampering crucial evidence in the chit fund case. Kumar was heading the Special Investigation Team set up by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to probe the scam before the case was handed over to the CBI by the top court.
The CBI had moved the Supreme Court after the Kolkata Police prevented its officials from approaching Kumar at his official residence in Kolkata on February 3. On the same night, Banerjee began the “Save the Constitution” protest at Esplanade, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah of plotting a coup. Rajeev Kumar had also joined the dharna, along with a few other police officers.
It is remarkable the Saradha company ran several Ponzi schemes in West Bengal, allegedly defrauding lakhs of people. Thousands of crores of rupees were lost after the scheme collapsed in 2013.
Actor Karan Oberoi’s bail application was rejected on Friday by Dindoshi sessions court. Oberoi’s lawyer Dinesh Tiwari fought the case for his client while Sheetal Pandya argued for the complainant.
Both lawyers argued their cases amicably questioning each others source of information.
Tiwari had on Thursday finished his arguments before the Dindoshi seeking bail for his client. He also added that both Karan and the victim had filed a complaint against each other.
Kashmiri Muslim protesters hold Isis and Pakistani flags as they shout anti-India slogans during clashes in downtown Srinagar on 8 April, 2016 ( TAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP/Getty Images )
Islamic State (ISIS) has come to the limelight of the media in the world, particularly South Asia following the April-2019 Easter Sunday jihadist attacks in Sri Lanka. Although there already are alerts issued by the counter-terrorism and counter-militancy organisations in South Asia about the possible ISIS suicide attacks on the Buddhist and Hindu temples in India and Bangladesh, confession by recently arrested ISIS men in Malaysia proves, this jihadist outfit is plotting massive attacks on non-Muslim places of worship during the month of Ramadan.
ISIS plotting massive attacks during Ramadan:
While in Malaysia, four Islamist militants are arrested who belong to Daesh group and were in possession of explosives and planned to attack non-Muslim places of worship during the month of Ramadan; some of the Islamic State (ISIS) contacts in the region already are looking for ‘several’ jihadist suicide attacks during the month of Ramadan. Malaysia has been on high alert since the Islamic State’s series of attacks in Indonesia in 2017.
The arrested four suspects are two Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, an Indonesian and a Malaysian. Country’s national police chief Hamid Bador described them as an “Islamic State” sleeper cell and said they planned to assassinate high-profile individuals and attack Hindu, Christian and Buddhist places of worship.
One of the Rohingya admitted supporting the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a militancy group blamed for attacks in Myanmar. The second Rohingya was a 25-year-old laborer who admitted to being militant with ties to Daesh. It may be mentioned here that, Rohingyas are an ethnic minority that have long faced persecution in their Buddhist homeland. There are currently 1.1 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
Malaysian police are hunting for three more members of the suspected terror cell who planned to attack entertainment outlets in the country.
ISIS may use local controversies:
As part of getting public support, Islamic State (ISIS) may be using local controversies as platforms for its extremist ideology, and this should be the most worrying news for those counter-militancy organizations in the world. As an ISIS attack in South Asia has now become a reality, we need to remain vigilant about ISIS using any of the local issues with the ulterior motive of getting support or sympathy from the majority of the population. In Malaysia we have seen, ISIS has engaged Rohingyas into jihadist activities, which clearly proves, ISIS can exploit foreigners as well to advance their notorious goals.
In Malaysia, ISIS will find an advantageous situation in expanding its activities and network because of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who is known as the world for his anti-Semitic mindset. Any of the Muslim nations promoting or nourishing anti-Semitism and Israel-bashing would now be amongst the most suitable battlefield of Islamic State. In Malaysia, ISIS soon will exploit the government’s official policy of anti-Semitism in particular in promoting the concept of Caliphate. The same thing would happen in Indonesia and for sure, Indonesia’s Aceh Province remains most vulnerable to ISIS foothold.
Being a researcher on counter-militancy, I think, there already are dozens of similar ISIS sleeper cells in Malaysia. In this case, the government should proactively resolve racial and religious issues and Craft narratives of unity, harmony, and coexistence. Organize more interfaith dialogue as well allocate more financial resources for programs to tackle extremism and terrorism.
Myanmar’s Rohingyas joining ISIS:
Never wanting to miss an opportunity, al Qaeda has used the occasion of renewed violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar to release an unofficial call to arms: “The savage treatment meted out to our Muslim brothers in Arakan by the government of Myanmar under the guise of ‘fighting rebels’,” the statement went, “shall not pass without punishment, and the government of Myanmar shall be made to taste what our Muslim brothers have tasted in Arakan, with the permission of Allah.” The question is who is going to answer that call. Of particular interest to the international community will be the foreign fighters who used to belong to the Islamic State (ISIS) and could now be headed to fight on a new front.
The plight of the Rohingya, an Islamic minority in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, has evoked strong emotions across the Muslim world. Many countries have protested against the persecution of the community, following a violent crackdown by the Myanmar army that left hundreds dead and sparked an exodus of more than 700,000 people from Rakhine to Bangladesh. But as rights groups urge world leaders to impose sanctions on Myanmar’s military, which is accused of “ethnic cleansing”, a darker danger lies ahead. We need to remember, Rohingya crisis has attracted the attention of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), as well as Muslim militants and hardliners in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, and Malaysia. This may result in another longstanding conflict in South and South-east Asia, following the recent siege in the southern Philippine city of Marawi by Islamist militants.
Islamic State (ISIS) has routinely, through its online publication Dabiq, claimed that it plans to establish a base in Bangladesh to launch revenge attacks on the Myanmar government over its treatment of the Muslim Rohingya.
Malaysian counter-terrorism chief Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said that ISIS is exploiting the Rohingya crisis to recruit more fighters, particularly from South-east Asia.
Meanwhile, in Indonesia, the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) had called for “jihadists” to travel to Rakhine to fight on behalf of the Rohingya. The FPI has shown that it has the ability to mobilize hundreds of thousands of people, as seen in the many rallies it led against former Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, a Chinese-Christian politician, for insulting Islam in 2017.
Indonesia’s Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) spokesman Slamet Maarif was quoted by The Australian newspaper in 2017 as saying that the group is prepared to wage “jihad”, or holy war, in Myanmar if the need arises. And now, after Myanmar’s failure or unwillingness in resolving the Rohingya crisis and letting the 1.1 million Rohingya refugees return from Bangladesh, most definitely ISIS and other jihadist forces will now opt for resolving the crisis through jihad, which not only pose massive threat to Bangladesh in particular but also to the region and the world.
We need to note, ISIS, after losing much of its territory in the Middle East is now trying to expand its hold in South Asia and South-east Asia. Myanmar’s proximity to Malaysia would encourage ISIS to tap the conflict in Rakhine. Myanmar is closer to Malaysia than Syria and the southern Philippines… and now Rakhine has become their latest destination for ‘jihad’.
On the other hand, the resurgent Al-Qaeda, which was behind Sept 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, has also started to make its move, issuing a statement on September 12, 2017, calling for attacks against the Myanmar government over the Rohingya.
Counter-terrorism organisations in South Asia in particular need to remember, while most of the attention by security agencies have been on ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and its affiliate in the Indian subcontinent known by the acronym AQIS, for example, is equally dangerous. There are possibilities of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Sipah Sahaba, etc. or Bangladesh-based Jamaatul Mujahedin Bangladesh, Hizbut Tahrir, Ansar Al Islam, etc. also joining the conglomerate of jihadists in their battle in Myanmar.
(The author of the article is the editor of Blitz.)
(The latter part of the column will continue on Monday.)
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan said on Friday that every religion has its own terrorists and no one claim to be sanctimonious. He warned against any measure to arrest him. Eggs, stones and slippers were hurled at him during his political rallies in Tamil Nadu.
It is notable that Kamal Haasan is at the centre of a raging row over his Hindu extremist remarks. Hindu outfits have attacked him on the issue and said that he cannot mix up an assassination with terror and link it to Hindus.
Asked if he had filed an anticipatory bail plea in the Madras High Court fearing arrest, Kamal Haasan replied in the negative. He said, “I am not afraid of being arrested. Let them arrest me. If they do so it will only create more problems. It is not my warning but only advice.”
He said that the remarks made during the Aravakurichi Assembly segment bypoll campaign meet on last Sunday were not made for the first time. Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) founder maintained that history has shown that all religions have their extremists.
It is remarkable that Kamal Haasan is under attack from the BJP, AIADMK and Hindu groups over his remarks on Nathuram Godse. Stones were thrown at his rally in Tiruchirapally. After this incident, he said, “The quality of politics is going down. I don’t feel threatened.”
Issuing a clarification over his remark that the ‘first terrorist in independent India was a Hindu’, he said, “I have said the same thing before. It’s not the first time but it’s been blown out of proportion.”
It is summer vacation time as students get two months break from school. Due to rising temperature in summer months during April, May, and June, schools remain closed. Many children go to their native place to meet their relatives while some others play with their friends. The main objective of summer vacation is to give some break to students after the completion of their annual exams. Students are assigned study work during summer vacation from school and they have to submit the report. Summer vacation is the happiest period for students as they get two months break from their hectic school life.
Parents want their children to learn new skills which will enable them to get ahead in life. Summer vacation is the right time to learn new things in life. Some children have a habit of wasting their summer education by sitting idle and sleeping, watching movies, television, playing video games, surfing the net. It is necessary that students make effective use of their summer vacation.
Students can visit the library or bookstore to get a new book. Reading is a great activity for summer and it will help them brush upon the skills needed for the upcoming academic year. Students can study a new subject and also revise those subjects in which they are weak. They can indulge in gardening activities. By waking up early in the morning, they can go running and do some exercises to keep them fit. They can learn a new language. Students can join foreign language classes which will enable them to get ahead of their competitors. They can learn to play guitar, saxophone. Summer vacation is also the right time to take up a part-time job which will enable students to earn some pocket money. They can join in computer classes and become techno-savvy. Since temperature increases during summer vacation children can play indoor games like chess, carom board, snakes and ladder, and ludo. Another great idea of spending summer holidays is to explore one’s own city or discover a new place and enhance their general knowledge.
Image Courtesy: Rhytm-India.com
Students can join dance classes or an art workshop. They can undertake some social activities by helping the poor and take care of senior citizens. Volunteering for social causes is becoming a great trend among children and youth today. Students can volunteer for activities like stopping child labour. They can raise funds for helping the needy. Thus students must make effective use of their summer vacation and learn new skills which will shape up their future.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
The Trinamool Congress has alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Kedarnath visit is a violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). The party wrote to the Election Commission on Sunday regarding this.
Addressing the first press conference of his tenure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed the Lok Sabha elections “spectacular” and expressed confidence of coming to power again.
